WOMAN WAS KILLED FOR DRUG MONEY, STATE SAYS

Homeless Man Goes On Trial In Desoto Widow's Slaying

By Michael Saul / The Dallas Morning News

The pursuit of crack cocaine was the primary motive for a homeless man to
kill a 52yearold DeSoto woman and then loot her home after she took him
in and fed him, the lead prosecutor in his deathpenalty trial said Monday.

Gregory Edward Wright, 32, is accused of capital murder in the March 21
stabbing death of Donna Duncan Vick, a religious woman known in the
community for her devotion to the homeless and others in need.

Testimony began Monday before a jury of nine men and three women in state
District Judge Robert W. Francis' court. Mr. Wright's codefendant, John
Wade Adams, is scheduled for trial next year.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis told the jury in his opening
statement Monday that Ms. Vick befriended Mr. Wright, gave him money and
offered him a place to sleep, only to die in her bed at the hands of a man
she tried to help.

"He was straddling Ms. Vick on her bed and repeatedly cutting and stabbing
her to death for money," to buy crack cocaine, Mr. Davis said. "She
literally bled to death in her bed."

Mr. Davis described Mr. Wright as a "streetwise drug abuser" who needed
money and preyed on an innocent woman to feed his habit. The prosecutor
told the jury that Mr. Adams has implicated Mr. Wright in the killing and
that physical evidence including a pair of Mr. Wright's jeans stained
with Ms. Vick's blood will link him to the crime.

Mr. Wright's attorney, Karo Johnson, declined to comment Monday, citing
Judge Francis' request that attorneys and witnesses in the case refrain
from talking to the news media. Mr. Johnson opted not to deliver an opening
argument Monday.

Jerry D. Blanton, Ms. Vick's son, told jurors that his mother lived alone
in the 1200 block of Granada Drive after her husband died, about a year
before the slaying. He described her as a pious woman who preached to
strangers and dedicated her life to helping people in need.

"Thanksgiving and Christmas, we didn't see her because she was out in the
streets feeding the homeless," he said. "That was her mission."

She collected blankets and food for the homeless, donated Bibles to local
jails and visited inmates in an effort to preach to them, Mr. Blanton said.
On crossexamination, Mr. Blanton said his mother could have been
considered a fanatic about religion.

"She would not get in a car without saying a prayer," he testified.

Ms. Vick suffered from a mental illness once diagnosed as paranoid
schizophrenia, her son said. He said she had several stays in a local
mental health facility, including one during the month of her death.

Dr. Karen F. Ross, the Dallas County medical examiner who conducted the
autopsy on Ms. Vick, testified that her injuries were consistent with the
prosecution's theory that she was lying on her bed when she was attacked.
Ms. Vick also had defensive wounds on her forearms and hands, indicating
that she struggled during the attack, Dr. Ross told jurors.

As the prosecution displayed gruesome autopsy pictures on an overhead
projector, Mr. Wright shielded his eyes and looked down at the defense table.

Don Duncan, Ms. Vick's father, said outside the courtroom that Mr. Wright
should be punished for the slaying. But Mr. Duncan said he opposed the
state's decision to seek the death penalty. If Mr. Wright is convicted, he
can be sentenced to death or a life term.

"I'm totally against the death penalty under any circumstances," Mr. Duncan
said. "He should be punished, convicted and perhaps a life sentence."

Any decision to put Mr. Wright to death, Mr. Duncan said, should be left to
God.