Foley murder retrial in jury's hands

COLDWATER, Mich. (WOOD) - Tom Foley is either a cold-blooded killer who murdered his wife with a shotgun blast in their home while their kids were out in the back yard or was simply targeted by investigators trying to solve the 2009 slaying.

Jurors in the case began deliberating Friday afternoon and continued until about 9:30 p.m.  They will resume Saturday.  

This is the second murder trial for Foley, who is accused of killing his wife DeeDee Foley at their Branch County home in 2009.

Tom Foley was convicted but won a new trial after judges agreed there was new evidence in the case.

He's charged with first-degree murder, though the jury could find him guilty of second-degree murder should they conclude there's not enough evidence to prove premeditation and other elements of the more serious charge.

Judge Conrad Sindt told jurors they "must pay no attention" to the fact that Tom Foley had been tried before. "It must not affect your consideration."

Before they began deliberations, lawyers in the case made their last pitch.

"Who had the opportunity? It was Tom Foley," Branch County Prosecuting Attorney Terri Norris told jurors. "Who's alone with DeeDee Foley on February 7th (the day of the murder)? It's Tom Foley. Who had the motive? It's Tom Foley."

Norris said "all arrows" point to the victim's husband. She argued he was unhappy in his marriage, he "had access to the weapon" and his fingerprints were on a bag containing ammunition.

But Tom Foley's lawyer told the jury the investigation into DeeDee Foley's death "festered" because authorities "could find nobody else to point the finger at. They became so focused in relation to Tom Foley that whenever there was an effort to follow up on a legitimate lead, they chose not to."

Defense lawyer Thomas Schaeffer argued that the new evidence that prompted the new trial -- evidence he argued was not properly investigated by authorities -- bolstered the theory that someone else killed DeeDee Foley.

The evidence includes witnesses who said they saw strange cars in the area of the Foley home at the time of the murder. One woman testified she was nearly struck by a car driven by a man who looked pale and had his hands clenched on the steering wheel, Schaeffer said.

Norris, the prosecutor, noted other witnesses said they never saw anything out of the ordinary. And she openly questioned why the new witnesses did not contact authorities immediately.

On Thursday, Tom Foley himself took the stand.

When asked if he had "anything to do" with his wife's death, he responded "not at all."

And on Friday, jurors again heard his 911 call.

"Please hurry," he told an operator, who responded that an ambulance would be sent -- and asked "what was going on" with his wife.

"She's in the shower," Tom Foley responded. "I don't know."

The defense argued the recording showed a genuine response. The prosecution maintained that the call showed Tom Foley changed his story between the time of the call and the time he was interviewed by investigators.

"Tom Foley is guilty," she told jurors. "And I'm asking you to bring back that verdict."