Donald Gower At press time Thursday afternoon, 27th District Court Judge Joe Carroll was expected to issue a ruling in response to a defense motion on whether the capital murder charge against 40-year-old Donald Dean Gower should be reduced to murder.

The Copperas Cove man is on trial in connection with the July 4, 2007, shooting death of his wife, Hidi Gower, at the Kempner VFW Post 3393 in east Lampasas County.

After Carroll's ruling and final arguments by the prosecution and defense, deliberations by a jury of 10 men and two women were to begin.

Gower, who did not take the stand during the trial, sat calmly in the district courtroom, clad in his green Army dress uniform.

Testimony late Wednesday and on Thursday focused on Gower's inquiries about insurance policies on his wife.

Staff Sgt. Gerrine Lizama, who works for Human Relations with the Army Operational Test Command, testified that on March 21, 2007, Gower -- a sergeant first class stationed at Fort Hood -- and his wife came to her office to make sure Mrs. Gower was covered for $100,000 of Service Group Life Insurance family coverage. Mrs. Gower's information already was in the Army's computer system, but Gower wanted to update the data because the couple had divorced and remarried.

Gower also met with Ms. Lizama the day after his wife's murder and asked when SGLI benefits would be paid. Ms. Lizama told Gower he would not receive payments until law enforcement officials closed their investigation into Mrs. Gower's death.

The defense counsel, court-appointed attorney John Galligan of Belton, asked Ms. Lizama whether commanders encourage soldiers to update their SGLI data often. Ms. Lizama said they do. In a statement Aug. 14, 2008, Ms. Lizama said Gower's commanders mentioned the need to update his information before Gower approached her.

Although she considered it odd that Mrs. Gower came with her husband to verify their coverage, the staff sergeant said the meeting did not go against Army protocol.

Another witness also elaborated on insurance details.

Wa y n e Ploeckelmann, manager of the Temple Alltel store where Mrs. Gower worked, said Alltel gives all employees a $50,000 life insurance policy. Benefits expire at the end of the month the employee leaves work.

Unless an employee designates a different recipient, his or her spouse collects on the insurance policy in the event of the worker's death, Ploeckelmann said.

Ploeckelmann said he thought Mrs. Gower's employment at Alltel ended either June 27 or June 28, 2007.

Although he declined Wednesday to specify the reason for her departure, the store manager testified Thursday that Mrs. Gower was terminated for violating security policy and for violating company policy about obtaining access to her account.

Ploeckelmann also said Don Gower, whom the manager had met casually at the store just once, visited with him in Temple on July 5, 2007. Gower told his wife's former supervisor Mrs. Gower had been killed. Gower then asked if his wife had worked at the Alltel store early in July, if she quit or if she had been terminated.

Ploeckelmann said he considered the question odd, because he assumed Gower would have known his wife's employment status.

When Galligan asked the witness if Mrs. Gower had designated an insurance beneficiary other than her husband, Ploeckelmann declined to answer, saying an Alltel legal representative would have to answer the question.

Galligan objected, asserting he had asked a legitimate cross-examination question.

"I think it's critical that we determine, as a follow-up to direct examination, whether it's unusual for a spouse to come in and ask these questions," Galligan said.

Judge Carroll met with the witness and then called the jury back into the courtroom. Carroll instructed Ploeckelmann to answer the question about Mrs. Gower's insurance beneficiary and said he would allow the witness to contact Alltel's corporate offices before testifying Thursday about Mrs. Gower's employment details.

When cross-examination resumed, Galligan asked Ploeckelmann a second time whom Mrs. Gower had designated as the beneficiary of her life insurance benefits. The store manager said he did not know.

Jurors on Wednesday also heard testimony about Gower's talk of hiring somebody to kill his wife, and the defense attorney argued that witnesses John Martinez and Jeremiah Ellison knew their testimonies would not count against them.

Martinez and Ellison -- along with Gower, Regina Edwards and Chaka Johnson -- were arrested in July 2007 in connection with Hidi Gower's shooting death. Ellison posted $10,000 bond in October, Martinez remains in the Bell County Jail, and a jury on June 13 found Johnson guilty of capital murder.

Charges against Ms. Edwards have been dropped.

Ellison took the witness stand Wednesday and said he and Gower met several times throughout 2007 at Applebee's in Copperas Cove for drinks. At one meeting in January 2007, Ellison testified, Gower offered him $25,000 to kill Mrs. Gower.

Ellison said he refused the offer. Gower then asked if Ellison knew anybody who would perform the task, Ellison testified. When Ellison said he did not, Gower responded, "Don't worry about it," Ellison testified.

"I thought he meant it, but I really had no idea how to react," he said.

Ellison testified that he knew Gower took numerous medications, but he did not think Gower was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he mentioned having his wife killed.

"He was the same as he always was," Ellison said during questioning by prosecutor Larry Allison, Lampasas County district attorney.

Ellison also mentioned a meeting in March 2007 at Boston's restaurant in Killeen. Martinez called Ellison before the meeting to ask for some cocaine, and Ellison then called Gower and asked him to bring some.

Gower and Martinez left the group's table to go to a bathroom, Ellison testified, and later in the evening Gower asked Ellison if Martinez had been in the Mexican Mafia and was trustworthy.

Martinez later told Ellison that Gower had offered him $25,000 to kill Hidi Gower.

Martinez testified on Tuesday about the meeting at Boston's, where he said he met Ellison and Gower for a drug deal. Before the meeting, Ellison had told Martinez that Gower wanted to have his wife murdered, Martinez testified.

At the meeting, Gower offered Martinez $25,000 to kill Mrs. Gower and said he either would make payments or would give Martinez drugs as remuneration, Martinez testified. Gower told Martinez the money would come from a life insurance policy he had taken out on Mrs. Gower.

Gower also told Martinez his wife worked at an Alltel store in Temple, and noted what times she arrived at and left work.

After mentioning Gower's comment about insurance, Martinez stated in court that he, Ellison and Gower eventually left the restaurant and continued discussing murder plans later that night at Martinez's apartment in Harker Heights.

When questioned by Allison on Tuesday, Martinez said although Gower consumed alcohol during the meeting at Boston's, the defendant seemed completely sober and was serious about the murder-forhire plan.

"He looked pretty focused on it," Martinez said.

During cross-examination by Galligan on Wednesday, however, Ellison said he never knew when to believe Gower. The defendant bragged about being in a gang, killing multiple people and working as a hit man in Detroit -- none of which Ellison believed.

Although Gower had discussed wanting to have his wife killed, Ellison said Gower did not formulate detailed plans either at Applebee's or at Boston's.

"I thought it was just a lot of guys blowing smoke until it happened," Ellison said.

Gower's defense team focused Tuesday and Wednesday on meet- ings both Ellison and Martinez had in April 2008 with Allison.

Martinez said before the meeting, when he gave a statement to Texas Ranger Jess Ramos and Lampasas County Sheriff's Investigator David Thorpe, he and his attorney had not discussed the punishment range for capital murder. Martinez denied making a deal in which court testimony or statements to law enforcement officials would not be admissible as evidence against him.

Galligan's assistant, Ryan Smith, however, asked Martinez why he omitted certain details -- such as burning a photo of the Gowers in his girlfriend's car -- from a statement he made July 9, 2007, the day of his arrest.

Martinez said he told the truth in his first statement and offered the information out of remorse for his involvement in the murder-forhire scheme. Smith then asked why Martinez had not pleaded guilty if he believed he had done wrong.

"Wouldn't that satisfy your remorse?" Smith asked.

Galligan later asked Ellison if, in his July 2007 statement to law officials, he had omitted significant details of his involvement in plans to have Mrs. Gower murdered. Ellison said he had not told the complete story.

"I left out everybody [who eventually was arrested] at that time," Ellison said.

Ellison said there were major differences between his first statement and a nine-page statement he made to Ramos, Thorpe and Allison in October 2007 -- shortly before his release on bond -- but Ellison said his attorney never promised his statement would not be used against him in court.

Galligan showed Ellison a letter from Ellison's attorney saying his statement would not be used as evidence -- unless the October 2007 statement and later court testimony contradicted each other -- but Ellison said he saw the letter for the first time at Chaka Johnson's trial in June.

Gower's defense team also emphasized discrepancies between the accounts Martinez and Ellison gave of meeting Gower at a gas station to obtain money for a revolver.

Martinez testified Wednesday that Gower met him and Ellison in March 2007 at a 7-Eleven on Willow Springs Road in Killeen.

Gower got out of his pickup and approached Ellison's pickup, Martinez testified, and handed Ellison a white envelope containing $250. Ellison then passed the envelope to Martinez, Martinez testified.

Martinez said he understood Gower was hiring him to kill Mrs. Gower. Gower had told Martinez payment for the murder would come from Mrs. Gower's life insurance policy, Martinez testified.

During cross-examination, Ryan Smith asked Martinez if Ellison would be lying if he said Gower gave the envelope directly to Martinez without Ellison touching it. Martinez said "yes."

Ellison testified that, on Martinez's request, he called Gower to ask for $250 -- which Ellison believed was to be used for a gun. Ellison said he drove Martinez in his pickup and pulled up next to Gower's Chevrolet pickup at the 7-Eleven. Gower, his former fiancee, Regina Edwards, and Ms. Edwards' children were in Gower's pickup, Ellison said.

Gower passed an envelope to Martinez without getting out of his truck, Ellison said. Ellison said he doesn't remember touching the envelope.

Ms. Edwards, who lived with and was engaged to Gower before he decided to marry the former Hidi Easton, testified Tuesday that Gower talked occasionally of killing himself, his father, one of his father's neighbors and his wife. During cross-examination by Galligan, however, Ms. Edwards said she never knew if Gower was coherent when he discussed acts of violence.

Gower drank alcohol heavily, took several powerful medications -- often taking double doses by mistake -- to cope with back pain resulting from surgeries and described himself as bipolar, Ms. Edwards testified. She said she considered her former fiance's talk of killing his wife "babbling."

"If I had taken him seriously, I would have said something," Ms. Edwards said.

Ms. Edwards was arrested July 9, 2007, but Carroll dismissed her case after determining she did not promote or assist in the offense.

Ashley Edwards, who was with her brother, her mother -- Regina Edwards -- and Gower at the gas station in March 2007, also testified Tuesday afternoon. Miss Edwards said she saw Ellison and a passenger she could not identify in a red pickup truck at the 7-Eleven. She testified she saw Gower slide a white envelope to Ellison and guessed it contained money.

"Why else would he hide it?" Miss Edwards said.