It was just before 8:30 p.m. when we heard that the verdicts had come down. And, it seemed like the oddest time for it to happen. The jury got the case at 11:30 a.m. and asked three questions. The last came around 8:10 p.m. The jurors asked what it meant to exercise "due care." I found a definition of due care on the internet it states, "A phrase used to the level of care that an ordinarily reasonable, intelligent, and prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances."
Basically, the jurors had to decide whether an ordinary person in the same or similar circumstance who would have struck Tiffany Pohl and Kayla Lamers. Within 10 minutes of the jury receiving the definition, we received word that the jury had reached its verdicts.
When I walked into the courtroom, family and friends of Randall Ashauer were sitting quietly in the courtroom. Tiffany Pohl's mother and brother walked in. Judge Mark McGinnis came in and he brought the jury back. He told everyone in the courtroom that they would be taken into custody if they became disruptive or emotional during the reading of the verdicts.
The first verdict was read and there was silence. You could see people becoming emotional but trying to keep their composure. As the four not guilty verdicts were read, Tiffany Pohl's mother Vicki sat motionless and silent. Tiffany was not in the courtroom.
Kayla Lamers and her mother sat silent.
Judge McGinnis told the jurors they were the most attentive jurors he'd had in his courtroom.
Randall Ashauer and his family and friends cried and hugged for several minutes before leaving. Some made celebratory phone calls while others said "it was worth wait."
