Revival of 1995 slaying case against Scott Wynne opens old wounds

Scott Wynne in June 1995 at his preliminary examination hearing for the killing of Phil Timmerman.

Thirteen years have gone by since Scott Wynne was convicted of murdering Hamilton farmer Phil Timmerman. A federal judge says Wynne deserves a new trial. And on March 2, Wynne will ask that same judge to let him out of prison on bond pending that trial. The victim's family, a key witness, local deputies and state prosecutors say that would be wrong.

Phil Timmerman

ALLEGAN COUNTY -- Phil Timmerman didn't stand a chance when a gunman, lying in wait, ambushed the Hamilton farmer in an Allegan Township cornfield after dark.

He was shot eight times by a .45-caliber Ruger, and once by a .22. The killer slipped into the night.

Marc Peckhem, the key prosecution witness in the 1995 slaying, helped convict Scott Wynne, his former friend who lived just down the road from the crime scene, He provided the motive: Wynne was angry that Timmerman, 37, a farmer and co-owner of Fillmore Equipment, leased farmland that belonged to his mother.At trial, the defense tried, unsuccessfully, to link Peckhem to the killing.

Now, it could get another chance: A federal judge said Wynne deserves a new trial because his lawyer was unfairly limited in trying to implicate Peckhem. In two weeks, the same judge will decide whether Wynne, 40, should be released from prison on bond pending appeals and, potentially, another trial.

It is a devastating turn of events for the victim's family, but cheered by Wynne's supporters.

"(Wynne) feels somewhat vindicated to get another chance to have it done right," said Joe Munn, an Allegan High School teacher who regularly visits Wynne in prison.

"In our heart of hearts, we didn't believe he got a fair shake."

Scott Wynne, today

The victim's family was outraged by the bond request and disappointed that a judge said Wynne deserved a new trial.

"It is unbelievable that this judge is considering a 'bond for release' during the appeals process, on a convicted first-degree murderer, after a jury heard 2 1/2 weeks of testimony," a brother, Ken Timmerman, said.

"This is a threat to our community, especially those who testified," he said.

The state is appealing the order for the new trial, and is opposed to bond. If the appeal fails, Prosecutor Fred Anderson said he will put Wynne on trial a second time.

Sheriff's Detective Patrick O'Reilly predicts that a new trial will bring the same outcome.

"It's going to take two months to prepare, and in the event his conviction is overturned, we're ready to go (to trial), and we'll convict him again -- because he's guilty."


The murder case of Scott Wynne

Phil Timmerman was shot and killed nearly 14 years ago while working in a farming field Allegan County. His accused killer, Scott Wynne, was convicted of murder less than six months later.

1992: Scott Wynne's mother, Judy, enters into long-term lease with Phil Timmerman to farm her land.

May 18, 1995: Around 10:35 p.m., Timmerman is shot nine times, at a distance of 5 feet, while farming at 118th Avenue and 28th Street in Allegan Township. A farm worker finds Timmerman dead. Police find matted grass where the killer waited.

May 19, 1995: Allegan County sheriff's detective is told Wynne was suspected of slashing Timmerman's tractor tires in 1991 and 1992. Police use a search warrant to enter his mother's home where he lived on 118th Avenue and find a .45-caliber Ruger -- later tied to the killing -- above the ceiling of his bedroom. Wynne is arrested.

May 21, 1995: Marc Peckham, Wynne's longtime friend, tells police Wynne talked about killing Timmerman.

Oct. 16, 1995: Wynne's jury trial begins in Allegan County Circuit Court. In the trial's second week, a duffel bag turns up beneath a bed in Judy Wynne's home. Contents include boots that match a footprint near the killing scene. Police had searched and videotaped the house, but the duffel bag was not there before.

Nov. 3, 1995: Wynne is convicted of first-degree murder.

Jan. 5, 1996: Wynne is sentenced to life in prison, no parole.

July 22, 1998: After two years of hearings and post-trial filings, Allegan County Circuit Judge George Corsiglia, who presided over trial, rejects defense motion for new trial. Wynne's side blames Corsiglia for the delays; he says defense motions are based on "speculation, guess and conjecture."

Dec. 3, 1999: State Court of Appeals affirms Wynne's conviction. State Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal.

Nov. 5, 2003: U.S. District Judge David Lawson orders Wynne retried within 90 days or released, says Wynne's rights violated because he was barred from offering "powerful testimony" at trial against Peckham, the key prosecution witness. But Lawson suspends the ruling after he determines factual errors in Wynne's brief "may have influenced the court's decision."

Jan. 23, 2009: Lawson again orders Wynne retried or released. State appeals ruling.

Coming: On March 2, Wynne's motion to be released on bond goes before Lawson. State opposes.

O'Reilly arrested Wynne, who was once suspected of vandalizing Timmerman's farm equipment and was reportedly upset Timmerman leased land from Wynne's mother. Police found Wynne's .45-caliber Ruger, tied to the slaying, hidden above his bedroom ceiling.

The trial lasted nearly three weeks, every gallery seat filled. It brought surprises -- a duffel bag with shoes linked to the crime scene turned up mid-trial in Wynne's home -- and contentious testimony.

The prosecution focused on Wynne and the land deal. The defense tried to raise doubt, pointing at Peckhem, or the possibility that drug dealers killed Timmerman. Wynne said he was home, an alibi supported by his mother.

The trial judge, Circuit Judge George Corsiglia, once characterized Wynne's case as a "defense built on smoke and shadows and not truth."

For the defense, nothing worked, not in appeals to the trial judge, the state Court of Appeals or Supreme Court, until the case landed before U.S. District Judge David Lawson.

Last month, Lawson said Wynne should be retried within 90 days or released. Wynne was unconstitutionally barred from introducing evidence at trial that the defense contended would suggest Peckhem, "the state's principal witness, actually committed the murder and framed (Wynne)," the judge wrote.

The defense said Peckhem held a grudge after Wynne fired him, and knew where Wynne kept his firearms.

"That defense was crucial, because the claim was that the state's key witness was potentially the killer, and framing (Wynne)," appellate attorney John Minock wrote.

C. Michael Villar, Wynne's lawyer during the trial, agrees he should have been able to "provide a defense that Marc Peckhem had done the crime." And he said his client has always maintained his innocence.

But Villar recognizes that for the Timmermans, Lawson's ruling is "another tragedy that has come back upon them."

Lawson had issued a similar ruling in 2003, but reconsidered because the defense used erroneous information in its briefs. Once the errors were fixed, Lawson reached the same conclusion, nearly five years later.

The lengthy gap in the judge's actions is another mystery in the case. Lawson has not responded to interview requests to explain the delay. Attorneys had no explanation, but noted Lawson had to examine voluminous case filings.

Munn, the Allegan teacher, said the delay was disturbing, especially with the judge ruling Wynne deserved a new trial. He is among a small group that visits Wynne, a former garage-door installer now considered a model prisoner at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater.

He hates going to prison, but "that's what friends do," he said.

"Two sets of people had their lives destroyed as a result of this," Munn said. (Timmerman) had little kids, a wife and a business. Obviously, it's awful, it's horrible.

"I just don't think that my friend did it."

Peckhem does.

He figured defense accusations against him were long in the past. He wonders, and worries, what neighbors must think when they read about the allegations. He had to explain the case to his teenage son, who was just a toddler when the killing happened.

"The defense is pulling out stories, and attempting to make something that isn't there. I didn't do it. I'm not the guy. It was physically impossible for me to even be there. I was working, electronically clocked in at my workplace.

Police say Peckhem had nothing to do with the killing and reject the idea he would set Wynne up.

"If he wanted to get Scott Wynne, he could've killed Scott Wynne himself, not an innocent man," one investigator said.

Several witnesses said Wynne was angry about the land deal. Peckhem went further and said Wynne told him of plans to commit the crime.

Wynne declined to be interviewed, a prison official said.

Brad Beaver, an assistant state attorney general, said the federal judge "overestimated the value of evidence" that the trial judge excluded, and said the defense had wide latitude in impeaching Peckhem's character and "suggesting that he was responsible for the murder."

Wynne's release on bond would cause the victim's family and witnesses to "fear for their lives," Beaver wrote.

The victim's family on Friday filed a motion to be heard at Wynne's March 2 bond hearing.

Timmerman left a wife, Laurel, and three boys, Scott, Derek and Michael. He owned Fillmore Equipment with brothers Dave and Ken Timmerman.

Ken Timmerman said the family hopes the appeals court will overturn the order for a new trial. If not, "this will be difficult for the family to relive details of the loss of Phil, but we will work through this, and are confident a new trial would be the same result," he said, speaking for the family in an e-mail statement.

"It is difficult enough for anyone to lose a spouse, dad, child or brother. I think it is harder when a cowardly, senseless act like this was committed."

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