Prosecutor says video will show Travis Standlee strangling Raymond Ursino

CEDAR RAPIDS - The first of two murder trials for a man accused of strangling two homeless people days apart isn't a case of 'who did it” because video evidence is going to show Travis Standlee strangling and killing Raymond Ursino in a church parking lot on Sept. 5.

So said Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier during his opening statement Wednesday in Linn County District Court.

Standlee, 44, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Ursino, 56. Standlee also is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sharon Mead, 41, whose body was found Sept. 11 near a bus stop at Coe College. That trial is separate and set to begin in August.

'Words to describe Travis Standlee may have been a ‘traveler' and ‘entertainer,' but now he can be described with another word - ‘murderer,' ” said Schier, adding jurors will see surveillance camera footage showing Standlee's activities the night Ursino died.

'You will see Ursino being strangled to death,” Schier said. 'You will Standlee go over to see if he's breathing and then you see him calmly walk off.”

David Grinde, Standlee's lawyer, said in a brief opening that the videos are poor quality and difficult to make out. He told jurors they won't be able to see the evidence Schier describes.

Grinde asked the jury to closely listen to a state medical examiner's testimony on Thursday, which will detail health issues that Ursino had prior to the night of his death. There will be other circumstances that will come into testimony and at the end of the trial the jury will be convinced Standlee isn't guilty of first-degree murder.

Schier on Wednesday spent much of his opening statement reconstructing the events of Sept. 4 and 5 for jurors.

He said Standlee came to downtown Cedar Rapids on Sept. 4 to play his guitar at his 'favorite” bench on Third Street and 2nd Avenue for money. Standlee later would tell investigators that Ursino and another homeless person were dancing around, enjoying his music, but he was worried they were scaring off patrons, Schier said.

Standlee also told investigators that Ursino attempted to steal from him that night, Schier added.

The video will show Standlee putting Ursino in a headlock until he returns the money, Schier said, adding the surveillance videos will contradict a timeline of events Standlee gave to investigators.

One video will show Ursino going into the convenience store and leaving with Standlee. They are walking and laughing together, Schier said. Later, another video shows Ursino walking down Third Avenue and someone is hollering at him. He turns around but then keeps walking.

Schier said the jurors will be able to see Standlee grab Ursino and choke him until they are both on the ground.

According to police records, Standlee was arrested in Ursino's death on Sept. 9, but the next day Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said there was not enough evidence to charge him, and he asked police to continue the investigation.

Standlee was released from jail Sept. 10, and Mead was killed the next day.

According to a criminal complaint, Ursino and Mead both were strangled and had 'strikingly similar injuries.” Police found fingerprints on a can near Mead's body. Standlee was arrested Sept. 22 at a homeless shelter in Des Moines and charged in both deaths.

His first trial is expected to extend into next week. The prosecution is to continue its case at 9 a.m. Thursday.