JOSHUA WOLFSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, April 4, 2007 12:00 am
A Natrona County judge Tuesday set bail at $1 million cash for a man accused of killing his wife's friend, after being told that Edward Taylor is a danger to himself and others.
Taylor, shackled and in an orange jail uniform, wore a bandage over his right eye and ear during his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court. He also had a cut under his left eye.
He is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Mark Fisher, a 48-year-old Casper man found dead Sunday night in his home. About four hours after Fisher was found, Taylor turned himself in, telling a Johnson County Sheriff's lieutenant, "I committed homicide on April Fool's Day," according to a police affidavit.
Taylor, 42, told an unidentified person that he blasted his way into Fisher's North Kenwood Street home with a shotgun, the affidavit said. Fisher fired at him, inflicting minor injuries.
Taylor shot Fisher twice, including once in the head, the unidentified person told police.
Minutes before Fisher's body was found, Taylor's wife, Beth, went to the downtown Casper police station and said her husband had just threatened to kill her after seeing her leave Fisher's home, the affidavit said. Taylor allegedly pointed a .45 caliber pistol at her head.
During Tuesday's court proceedings, Assistant District Attorney Michael Schafer asked Judge Michael Patchen not to set bond for Taylor.
"We consider Taylor to be a danger to himself," Schafer said, adding that Taylor had threatened both to kill his wife and to commit suicide by cop, where someone provokes a police officer into shooting him.
He added that after the shooting, Taylor's first instinct was to leave Natrona County. Taylor surrendered in Kaycee a few hours after Fisher's body was found.
Public Defender Rob Oldham represented Taylor during the proceeding. He asked for a $500,000 bond, pointing out that Taylor turned himself in to authorities.
Patchen ultimately decided on a $1 million cash bond.
Taylor told Patchen that he has lived in Casper for about 15 years, has a high school education and is unemployed.
The murder charge isn't Taylor's first brush with the law. In July 1997, he was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, for allegedly pointing a handgun at another man, court records show.
Taylor entered a plea of no contest to the charge, but it was ultimately dismissed in 2002 because he completed six months of probation and led "a worthy and law-abiding life."
Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@casperstartribune.net.