Prelude to death: Teen's texts outline tragic tale

Text messages at the center of a trial to determine whether a 17-year-old Evergreen girl is guilty of two counts of deliberate homicide were read aloud in Flathead County District Court Friday.

Jurors were provided copies of the text message exchange between 18-year-old Ryan Langford and Justine Winter, who is accused of intentionally crashing her car on March 19, 2009, in an alleged suicide attempt that killed a pregnant woman and her teenage son.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office Detective Kipp Tkachyk read from a transcript detailing the conversation — which began at 7:51p.m. and ended at 8:21 p.m. — after being called to testify by Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams.

The final message sent by Winter at 8:19 p.m. came after Winter left Langford at his home following a heated argument. Langford had blamed Winter for their apparent breakup, prompting a reply from Winter who explained why she wanted him out of her vehicle.

“Because i wanted to kill myself. I wanted you out of my car so i could do what you told me i couldn’t. Because i lost you1 and its my fault,” Winter’s text read, according to the transcript, which included typographical errors.

That message came 24 minutes after Winter wrote in a text, “If i won. I would have you. And i wouldn’t crash my car,” according to the transcript.

She also sent a message to Langford’s sister at 8:12 p.m., asking her to “keep an eye on your brother for me please.” Another message to Langford read “i love you. my last words. I Love You Ryan!”

At about 8:30 p.m., Winter was southbound on U.S. 93 between Kalispell and Whitefish when her Pontiac Grand Am allegedly crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a Subaru Forester driven by Erin Thompson head-on, according to prosecutors. Thompson, who was pregnant, died along with her 13-year-old son Caden Odell.

The text messages were officially entered into evidence Friday, the same day that prosecutors essentially closed their case against Winter, though they will call one additional witness Monday.

On the witness stand, Tkachyk testified as to how the content of the messages was extracted from the cellular phones of Winter and Langford with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 Langford testified Wednesday, detailing how he and Winter began arguing at her home after he became angry and jealous over an entry in one of her notebooks that referred to another boy.

The two parted ways at Langford’s West Valley home, he said, and Winter drove away. Prosecutors have implied through testimony that Winter then traveled to Whitefish before driving on U.S. 93 southbound toward Kalispell.

At 8:09 p.m., less than 30 minutes before the crash, she responded to a message in which Langford wrote, “Stop. You hurt yourself I’ll know and I’ll do the same.”

Winter responded at 8:16 p.m., writing “thats why I am going to wreck my car. because all i can do is (expletive) up. because i am a terrible person. and i know it... if you really did love me tthen you would be able to put things like that aside and think now is life or death. it shows you would rather me die because i want to kill mysself. good bye ryan. I love you,” according to the transcript.

The text messages reflect the prosecution’s strongest evidence that Winter intentionally crashed her car. In the first five days of the trial, prosecutors with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office have elicited testimony from investigators, toxicologists, a coroner and a psychotherapist who treated Winter, among others.

Along with the text messages, prosecutors are also seeking to prove that Winter was not wearing her seat-belt and was struggling with a turbulent life at home when she allegedly intentionally crashed her car.

After the text messages were read to the jury, Winter’s defense attorney Maxwell Battle briefly questioned Tkachyk before prosecutors rested their case.

Battle and fellow defense attorney David Stufft immediately began calling their own witnesses, beginning with automotive technician Travis Ranson of Eisinger Motors in Kalispell.

Ranson testified that he assisted Montana Highway Patrol troopers in removing the seat-belt from Winter’s Pontiac following the crash. Battle questioned Ranson on an August 2010 deposition in which Ranson said debris was “rolled up in the seat belt mechanism.”

Seeking to use the statement to prove that the seat belt had been in use, Battle asked Ranson if he had an opinion on the matter. Ranson essentially backed away from his initial analysis.

“Now that I think about it and have a chance to think about it, it could have gone in there at the time of the accident or after,” he said.

Battle sought to strengthen his stance by noting that Kalispell Fire Department paramedic Joseph Hansen — who testified Tuesday — had included in a report that Winter was wearing a seat belt, though he admitted that information was not garnered from a first-hand account.

Winter’s father, Randy Winter, was the second witness called by defense attorneys.

“It was kind of like she was the model kid you didn’t have to worry about,” Randy Winter said. “She wasn’t into drugs. She wasn’t into alchol.”

He said he became worried on the night of March 19, 2009, when Justine Winter did not return home by 8 p.m. After speaking with Langford’s parents, he set out to find her in the West Valley area, he said.

Near the intersection of U.S. 93 and West Reserve Drive, he said he saw the lights of emergency vehicles beaming in the distance.

Randy Winter, who is also a firefighter, said he arrived at the scene of the crash, where an emergency responder confirmed that his daughter’s vehicle — with the license plate number JSTWNTR — was involved.

Fighting tears, he said he followed an ambulance that was transporting Winter to the hospital. Asked by Stufft about an injury to her abdomen — which her defense asserts was caused by the use of a seat belt — Randy Winter related an account from the hospital.

“Her eyes were not open,” Randy Winter said. “[The doctor] pushed on her abdomen and her eyes immediately became wide open.”

Asked by Stufft if, as a firefighter, he would agree that sometimes a seat belt is not cut, but rather unbuckled, at the scene of a crash, Winter said “yes.”

On cross-examination, Adams questioned Randy Winter on earlier testimony, asking if he was aware of Langford’s controlling behavior and whether or not he had demanded that Winter not speak to other boys.

“Sometimes that happens with young kids, they can do that,” he said.

Stufft closed out the fifth day of the trial by asking three apparent character witnesses to testify.

Laurel Eckern and Doug Mason, both teachers at Glacier High School, where Winter attends, described her as an exemplary student with a record of academic success.

“She seemed like a very nice young lady,” Eckern said. “She’s polite, kind and respectful.    Mason said Winter had excelled in three art classes at the high school.

“She’s a little bit quiet, a little bit shy, but she’s a very nice girl,” he said.

Denise Langford, Ryan Langford’s mother, also spoke positively of Winter, describing how she would join the family for dinner, board games and movies.

“I would describe Justine as very kind, very thoughtful, extremely intelligent and very compassionate,” Denise Langfrod said.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday at 9 a.m.

District Judge Katherine Curtis, who is presiding over the case, ruled Friday that prosecutors will not be allowed to show an animation of the crash to the jury.

Winter, who is being prosecuted as an adult, could face a maximum penalty of 200 years or life in prison if convicted on both counts of deliberate homicide.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com