Trial in husband’s killing wraps up

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

The fate of a sister and brother charged in a murder-for-hire scheme could go to a jury today.

Closing arguments were scheduled today in the trial of Susanne Carno and John Ray in the slaying of Carno's husband, Richard, and District Judge Joseph Bonaventure said jurors could begin deliberating their fate as early as 1 p.m. They face possible death sentences if convicted.

Lawyers representing both defendants made their cases Monday without either defendant testifying. While Carno's attorneys called several witnesses to the stand, attorneys representing Ray did not call a single witness.

Authorities say Susanne Carno hired Ray to kill her 36-year-old husband, Richard, in order to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy.

They say her guilt is evident, in part, in a series of e-mails Carno sent to her brother in the weeks before the killing which she discusses "a job" that needed to get done.

In one e-mail Carno refers to a bookshelf she says she wants her brother to finish building. Prosecutors believe the bookshelf was a code word for the murder.

But Shawn Olson, a neighbor and a friend of the couple, testified Monday that the bookshelf did indeed exist. He said Richard Carno had even discussed Ray's building of the bookshelf shortly before his death.

"(Ray) was building Richard a bookshelf for a gift," Olson said. "Richard already knew about it."

Olson said Susanne Carno had asked Ray to build the bookshelves because the siblings had been estranged and she wanted a way to bring him back into the family.

It was Olson's testimony outside the presence of the jury, however, that brought argument from both prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Olson said that during the same conversation he had with Richard Carno about the bookshelf, Richard Carno described his brother-in-law as an "unsavory" character.

"He said this guy was a bad influence," Olson said, adding that Richard Carno said he didn't want Ray "in their lives anymore" and said that Ray was "a bad person."

Bonaventure ruled that Olson's testimony before the jury would be limited only to the conversation about the bookshelf. Any other information was hearsay, the judge said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens argued that if jurors could hear Olson's testimony about the bookshelves, they should be allowed to hear the entire context of the conversation. Owens noted that prosecutors also had hearsay evidence from several witnesses that jurors would never hear.

Before his death, Richard Carno told friends that "he was forced to get the life insurance policy," Owens said. Owens said Richard Carno told friends that "if anything bad ever happened to him, they'd know where to look."

Those statements also were inadmissible, Owens argued.

"Richard Carno said a lot of things before his death," Owens said. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

Other witnesses who took the stand on Monday described Susanne Carno as a loving wife and mother.

Jim Jacobs, a clinical social worker for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints family services, said he approved the couple for the adoption of a 2-day-old baby named Jack in 2001.

"The home was ideal for children," he said. "I know I wouldn't have approved a couple if I didn't see it as appropriate for placement."