A murder trial is set to begin this week for a Montana man who fatally shot a teenage German exchange student he thought was invading his home.
At the heart of the Missoula County trial is whether or not Markus Kaarma, a former firefighter, was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 17-year-old Diren Dede in his Missoula garage on the night of April 27, the Associated Press reported. Under Montana law, homeowners are allowed to use deadly force if they believe their lives are in danger. The defendant has pleaded not guilty.
But prosecutors say Kaarma left his garage door open in an attempt to set a trap for potential burglars. Before the killing, Kaarma allegedly told a woman his house was burglarized twice and that he was staying up all night waiting to shoot the culprits, the AP reported. He also left a purse in the garage the night Dede was killed, prosecutors said.
There are conflicting reports as to what Dede, a student at Big Sky High School in Missoula, was doing when he entered Kaarma's garage.
A friend of Dede who was waiting outside the garage the night he died previously told investigators they were playing a game called "garage hopping" and that Dede went inside in search of alcohol.
When Dede entered the garage, Kaarma's motion sensors went off and he fired four shots from his gun without warning, hitting the teen in the arm and head.
However, defense attorney Lisa Kauffman said Dede was part of a band of teenage burglars who organized the alleged April 27 crime. They had a "pickup" vehicle and used their phones as walkie-talkies to communicate with each other, Kauffman said according to the Ravalli Republic.
Kauffman called for the defense to have access to evidence that could prove a crime was planned, including Dede's computer and cellphones belonging to his friends.
Lead prosecutor Andrew Paul said Kauffman's demands were "nothing but a fishing expedition."
Opening arguments for Kaarma's trial begin Thursday.
