Arterburn Thought He Was Killing His Molester
Bradley Arterburn took the stand in his own defense on Monday. (photo courtesy CRI)
The Bradley Arterburn trial continues in Oskaloosa. Arterburn is accused of murdering his mother’s boyfriend with an ax on June 19th of 2011.
The following story has graphic information about a murder case.
Defendant Brad Arterburn took the stand Monday in his own defense.
Arterburn recounted the history of his mental illness, as well as his experience with sexual abuse. Arterburn said he was abused by his mother’s husband, David Myers, almost daily from the ages of 8 to 11. Arterburn would eventually tell his mother about the abuse and Meyers was convicted of the crime and sent to prison.
Arterburn said victim Hank Horovitz immediately reminded him of his abuser, and he was unable to look at him in the face. Arterburn said the first weekend Horovitz visited, Arterburn stayed in his basement bedroom to avoid seeing him again.
“I was scared of [Horovitz]…because I was afraid of being molested again,” Arterburn said.
He told his mother, Linda Arterburn, to be careful and of his own fear of a repeat occurrence. Brad Arterburn spoke a lot about his grandmother, who he says was the person closest to him when she was alive. Arterburn took care of her when she got sick and he made a promise to his grandmother that he would protect his mother. Arterburn also spoke of a promise his mother made him after she found out about his molestation. Arterburn said his mother promised that if she ever dated someone who reminded him of Myers, she would stop seeing him.
“She didn’t keep her promise,” Arterburn said.
The Monday before the murder, Arterburn said he asked his mom if she could visit with Horovitz at his home in Cedar Rapids and Linda Arterburn agreed. Brad Arterburn went on a school trip during the week and returns Thursday to find out his mom had instead invited Horovitz to Oskaloosa.
Arterburn said he tried to find a way to be out of the house so he wouldn’t have to face Horovitz, eventually making plans to visit his sister Brianna Porter in Monroe, Ia. Arterburn spends Saturday night with his sister, returning to his Oskaloosa home Sunday afternoon.
As he comes back into the house, Horovitz made a comment about liking Brad’s dog. Brad said it was this comment that sends him into a flashback. He said some of the abuse he received from Dave Myers involved his dog and Horovitz mentioning the dog brought memories back of his abuse.
Arterburn said when he jabbed the ax into Horovitz, he only saw Myers looking back at him.
“I just couldn’t take it anymore,” he said on the stand Monday. “I stopped thinking and I just wanted to be safe, wanted to protect myself, needed to protect myself. My mom wasn’t protecting me. She said she was. I had to get rid of Dave.”
The prosecutions cross-examination of Brad focused on the discrepancy between his testimony with that of the recorded interview he gave the night of the murder. In his testimony, Brad said he didn’t remember anything he said to Detective Adam Decamp. During his recorded interview, Brad had specific memories of the murder and refers to the victim as “Hank.” On the stand Monday, Brad said he believes he used the ax on Myers, his abuser. When asked if he thought Hank was dead, Brad answers, “I don’t know.”
The defense rested following Brad’s testimony. Starting its rebuttal, the prosecution called Dr. Barbara Brown, who worked on medication management with Brad three times in 2012. Dr. Brown testified about the medication Brad was on during the time of the murder, as well during his time in jail.
The prosecution will continue presenting its rebuttal evidence Tuesday at 8:30 AM.
A criminal charge is merely a criminal charge and not an indication of guilt. All suspects should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
