Experts for the state and defense agreed at trial Friday: Taylor Bradley — who ran down two men in her Lincoln apartment complex parking lot and tried to run down a third last year — was legally insane when she did it.
"Judge, this is obviously a tragic case,"Â Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jim Rocke said, after offering 10 exhibits into evidence at the trial to a judge rather than a jury.
Among them, police reports, autopsy results, a report by the state's expert who did the insanity evaluation and statements by witnesses and Bradley herself, now 28.
Taylor Bradley
Bradley is facing six felonies, including the first-degree murder of Ronald Gonzalez-Rivas, 45, and Christopher Karmazin, 42, and the attempted murder of Robert Sargent, now 49.
Rocke said the exhibits set forth what happened March 27, 2023, and the results. Not only has it had a profound effect on the victims' families, but also on Sargent.
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"I'm sure he's suffering from survivor's guilt," he said.
Rocke said Sargent ended up having to leave his job, because it was essentially a crime scene "that brought these horrific events back to him."
Police say that afternoon Bradley drove her Subaru into a grassy area near the clubhouse at The Lodge apartments, near South 40th Street and Nebraska Parkway, purposely running over the two men, who died at the scene, and trying to run down a third.
Taylor Bradley listened May 17 as her attorney, Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender John Jorgensen, addressed the court at her bench trial on murder charges. Deputy Lancaster County Attorneys John Schmidt and Jim Rocke sat at the other end of counsel table.
All three had worked as maintenance employees at the complex, where Bradley lived.
After it happened, Rocke said: "She was actually so delusional on that day that she was proud of what she did."
At her first court appearance a day later, held by Zoom from the jail, Bradley appeared not to understand what was going on and repeatedly screamed over the judge, before a corrections officer muted her microphone and began to walk away from her cell.
Soon after, her public defender filed a motion seeking a competence evaluation of her.
Since then, Bradley has gotten treatment at the regional center to restore her competence so she understands the proceedings and can help with her defense.
The question on Friday for the court was her state of mind at the time of the crime and whether she knew right from wrong.
Rocke said, based on the exhibits, he realized that the court wouldn't have much option.
"Both experts came to the same conclusion that she was legally insane at the time. So the state understands the position the court's in," he said, inferring that Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post is likely to find her not responsible for the crime by reason of insanity.
Soon after, Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender John Jorgensen echoed his words.
"The words profound tragedy somehow just don't seem to properly encapsulate this unfortunate series of events, and profound tragedy for everyone touched by what happened," he said.
He said the court has all the information it needs to make a decision.
Post said he would get an order out soon in the case.
If, as expected, he finds her not responsible by reason of insanity, the judge would have a hearing to determine what steps to take next, which likely would involve a civil commitment to the Lincoln Regional Center.
Outside the courtroom, Giorgina Gonzalez, the widow of Ronald Gonzalez-Rivas, expressed her frustration and said for Bradley to have said she was proud of what she'd done was "terrifying" for those who had to live through this.
“They are saying that she is sick and she needs medication to be functional. But I saw her today, and she looked fine,†she said.
Gonzalez said she thinks about the children her husband and his co-worker left behind, and said it wouldn't be easy to see her out in the street one day "as if nothing has happened.â€
"There is no law here. All you have to say is you are mentally unstable, and that’s it," she said.
Remembering Lincoln's homicide victims of 2023
1. Julian A. Martinez
Police found 18-year-old Julian Martinez with one gunshot wound to his chest near 19th Street and Euclid Avenue on Jan. 21 after an argument over with a neighbor over their pet dogs devolved into a fatal shooting, according to authorities.
Prosecutors charged Martinez’s neighbor, 29-year-old Armon Rejai, with first-degree murder in the teen’s death.
, Martinez’s family said he cherished his sisters and nephews, who he loved to play video games and roughhouse with. He shared his life and love with his girlfriend and his best friend, along with numerous cousins and relatives, his family said.
2. Rudy Requejo Jr.
Rudy Requejo Jr., who was 22 months old, died at an Omaha hospital March 17 after weeks of suspected abuse and neglect, police investigators alleged in court filings.
Prosecutors charged the boy’s mother, 30-year-old Brittany Cook, and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Joshua Tackett, with child abuse resulting in the child’s death.
His family remembered Requejo Jr.’s infectious joy that, at times, brought previously feuding family members together.Â
“Junior had a smile that was like gravity,†his aunt said.
3. Ronald Gonzalez Rivas
Ronald E. Gonzalez-Rivas, 45, was one of two maintenance employees at The Lodge Apartments who were run over and killed at the south Lincoln complex on March 27.
A resident of the apartment complex, 27-year-old Taylor Bradley, was charged with six felonies for her alleged role in the brazen attack, including a first-degree murder charge in Gonzalez-Rivas’ death, according to court records.
In , his wife of 11 years, Georgina Molina, said she was deeply saddened by his death and asked for prayers for their family. Gonzalez-Rivas left behind two children, ages 19 and 26.
4. Christopher Karmazin
A longtime maintenance employee at The Lodge Apartments in south Lincoln, Christopher J. Karmazin was one of two men killed there March 27 when he and a colleague were run over and killed by a 27-year-old resident, police alleged.
Prosecutors charged Taylor Bradley with six felonies for her alleged role in the hit-and-run attack. She was charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in Karmazin’s death.
, family said the Lincoln man left behind three children and a loving wife.
"Chris loved spending time with his friends playing board games and was an avid animal lover," a relative, Garrett Karmazin, said in a post pinned to the fundraiser. “He enjoyed spending time outdoors and working with his hands. His greatest joy was being a father."
5. Damien Brave
Damien I. Brave, an 18-year-old Lincoln man, died in the early morning hours of April 1 after he was shot four times at a house party the night before near 27th and Fair streets.
Police in Michigan later arrested 17-year-old Kashaun M. McCree for his alleged role in Brave's death, thought to have been the result of a robbery gone wrong. Prosecutors charged McCree, who police say fled to Detroit after the shooting, with first-degree murder.
Brave's close friend and family, who , remembered him as a goofy, fun-loving kid whose beaming smile demanded that others join in.
"If you felt like crap or you felt down, and you got one of his hugs, you just felt like you were safe," his mother, Heidi Brave, said. "I'm the mom. I should have made him feel safe. But the way he just hugged you, it just made you feel like you were something special."
6. Mark Kruger
Mark Kruger, 59, died May 7 after he was stabbed amid an argument at a family gathering that evening near 63rd Street and Baldwin Avenue.
Police arrested Kruger's son, Joseph Kruger, at the scene. The 40-year-old was later charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for his alleged role in his dad's death.
In , Mark Kruger's family described the Lincoln man as a loving father, grandfather, brother and uncle who loved music, concert-going and riding his Harley.
"... He loved to make the world smile," Kruger's family wrote. "He loved camping, fishing and going out on the boat. Mark always, always gave compliments and encouragement to all and he would give the shirt off his back for anyone."
The family also to help pay for his funeral.
7. Zachary Svoboda
Lincoln Police found Zachary Svoboda dead at his home near the North 50th and Greenwood streets on Aug. 23, 2023.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be intoxication from a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Investigators have identified physical and digital evidence, along with witness statements, that show Svoboda's death was intentional.
Police have alleged Amanda Wright devised and carried out a plan to kill Svoboda.
She is currently being held at the Lancaster County jail.Â
8. James Baylor
James Baylor, who often went by Jim or Jimbo but whose legal first name was Robert, died at a Lincoln hospital Sept. 5, nine days after he suffered a head injury in an apparently random assault near 13th and P streets Aug. 27.
Police of Lincoln on suspicion of first-degree assault in the hours after the attack. Prosecutors later enhanced the charges filed against Rodriguez Alvis, charging him with manslaughter following Baylor's death.
Baylor's friends and family remembered the 55-year-old as "a dear, kind, tender soul that touched a lot of lives."
"He was always interested in other people and what they were doing and always enthusiastic about them," said his brother, John Baylor. "And it was completely authentic."
9. Larry Cole
Larry Cole, 76, was found in his residence on the 1100 block of New Hampshire Street on Dec. 19. Officers went to the home on a welfare check, which was called in by one of Cole's family members.
Police received no answer when they knocked and smelled natural gas, which led them to call Lincoln Fire and Rescue who turned off the gas.
When the air cleared, police went in and found Cole dead inside, as well as another man.
Cole's death later was ruled a homicide.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSpilger
Lori Pilger
Courts reporter
