John Stettler
KINGMAN – Trial has opened in Kingman for a Meadview man accused of using his homemade dune buggy to ram the quad operated by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, resulting in fatality. John Stettler, 42, is charged with second-degree murder in the July 28, 2023 death of Sally Minard, 38, Meadview.
Prosecutor Amanda Claerhout and defense attorney Paul Amann agree that the defendant and victim endured a super tumultuous relationship that could turn on a dime. They told the jury that the rocky nature of the couple’s relationship would be evident during trial.
Amann said Stettler and Minard were on good terms on July 26 and the morning of the 27th before things went south late in the evening and early the next morning. He said Stettler delivered cigarettes to Minard at her request on the afternoon of the 27th, about 12 hours before she died at a Las Vegas hospital at about 4:00 a.m. on the 28th.
Amann said Minard called Stettler for help hours later and was asking him to bring her some gasoline. She said Minard apparently became frustrated he didn’t act quickly enough and subsequently refused to accept his calls.
Claerhout said the defendant grew furious that she would not respond, and that phone records reveal that Stettler called Minard 140 times between 8:15 and 11:00 p.m.
“He is obsessed thinking she is lying, cheating all the time,” Claerhout said, painting Stettler as paranoid and insecure. “The defendant was obsessed and incessant that she was just out cheating on him all over.”
Claerhout said it was 1:36 am on the 28th when Stettler spotted Minard on her quad and deliberately struck her with his dune buggy at the intersection of Driftwood Drive and Boathouse Drive.
“This was an intentional hit by the defendant,” Claerhout said. “The defendant couldn’t stand that she wasn’t answering him anymore.”
Amann countered that Stettler was engaged in a good faith effort to deliver the gas Minard requested when the collision occurred. Amann told the jury that Minard’s vehicle struck Stettler’s and that the incident was an accident, not a crime.
Amann noted that Stettler called 911 for help, remained at the scene, and applied a towel to Minard’s bleeding head before emergency medical personnel arrived. He argued Stettler would have fled if he crashed on purpose.
Minard died at a Las Vegas hospital 2.5hours after the collision.
The trial before Judge Doug Camacho is expected to last five days.
Dave Hawkins
