Jurors hear of defendant’s confessions at Mass, to police

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

A day after he was arrested in the killing of his wife, 45-year-old Frank Marques confessed to police as audiotape rolled.

By that time, Marques had already allegedly confessed to a priest in front of parishoners in a church.

Both confessions are being laid out for jurors during Marques' ongoing trial. He is charged with first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in the August 2002 shooting of his wife, Candace Weckhorst, 35.

Weckhorst's body was found in a car in an alley east of downtown Las Vegas after she had left work for the day, saying she was going to meet Marques so he could give her some of the clothes she left behind.

Marques' lawyers concede he committed the killing -- but only did so because he was in an unstable frame of mind.

Throughout the taped confession Marques told police he was a "good man" who loved his wife and had never "slapped, pulled her hair, and never physically abused her."

Marques, an admitted alcoholic, told detectives during the statement he pleaded with his wife to come back to him during a two-hour conversation he had with Weckhorst several days after she left him.

"Please don't give up on me," Marques said he told Weckhorst. "Please don't get a divorce. I'll go to counseling, I'll go to marriage counseling, to AA, to church, I'll do it."

Marques said Weckhorst said she would meet him again days later. While he waited to see her again, Marques sank into a depression that led to his decision to kill her, he said on the tape.

"She (Weckhorst) was my best friend, my pride and joy in life," Marques said. "I didn't eat, drink or sleep for five days. I just cried and cried 'What did I do?' I thought to myself: If I can't have her, no one else would."

Marques said he "got the gun" a day before he was supposed to see Weckhorst, but said he did so "knowing he would not hurt her (Weckhorst)." Marques said he wasn't sure he was going to the gun because his mind was like a roller coaster.

Marques said he didn't decide he was going to kill Weckhorst until their meeting on Aug. 7, 2002, when in response to his asking her if she would be with another man was "it all depends."

Marques cried uncontrollably on the tape as he told detectives that as he pulled the gun on his wife she screamed to him, "Baby I love you, no baby please I'll come back to you, please baby no."

After firing several shots at her and determining she was dead, Marques said he "wanted to pay for what he had done" but didn't want to turn himself in to authorities until he "wrote something down on paper" and "got blessed by a priest."

Marques said he struggled to get home on foot as he felt like he was losing his mind. After stopping at several bars to drink and wait for nightfall so he wouldn't be "easily recognized" he made it home where he encountered the dog he owned with Weckhorst.

Marques said he felt the dog knew he had killed Weckhorst and he hugged the dog saying, "I killed Momma, I killed your momma." He said he was too drunk to write anything down, so he fell asleep.

Upon waking up the next morning, Marques was determined to receive a blessing from a priest and he went to the early morning Mass at Christ the King Catholic Church on Torrey Pines Drive near Tropicana Avenue.

The Rev. Bill Kenny testified prior to the playing of the audio tapes on Wednesday that he felt Marques was "distressed when he came to church, but there was a sense of calm once he got it off his chest."

Kenny said Marques "looked as if he had been up all night and had come off the street."

Kenny testified that Marques came to him in the middle of Mass and asked for a blessing. After placing his hand on Marques' head and saying "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," Marques told Kenny he had murdered his wife. Marques then asked the priest if he wanted to see "how he did it" and lifted his shirt to show a gun.

"I told him I don't like guns and can you please put that down," Kenny said. "He placed the gun on top of the baseball cap he took off when he knelt before me for the blessing."

Kenny said he motioned for one parishioner to pick up the gun, who did so and took it outside of the church.

Kenny testified he then asked Marques if they could talk after Mass and continued on with the service.

Kenny said Marques sat crying through the rest of the service, but kept his composure and even took communion with the rest of the parishioners.

After the Mass was over, Kenny asked Marques, "Are you ready to turn yourself in? Because I'm going to call 911 and the police will be here."

Kenny said Marques replied, "I'd rather be arrested at the church than at a bar or on the street."

After the police arrived and took Marques in to custody, they asked Kenny for a statement, but Kenny first had to call Bishop Joseph Pepe of the Diocese of Las Vegas to make sure he wasn't violating the "sanctity of confession" by telling the police what Marques confessed to committing.

Kenny said Pepe said that because the confession wasn't "one-on -one" and Marques never directly asked for confession, but instead to be blessed, Kenny was free to tell the police about Marques' murder confession.

Marques' trial is scheduled to continue today before District Judge Sally Loehrer.