Summary:

The body of Howard Rue Sikorski was discovered at approximately 2:00 a.m., on the floor of the Circle K convenience store.

An autopsy revealed six gunshot wounds: one to the face, one to the back of the neck, one to the right side of the head, and three to the back.

The autopsy also revealed several blunt-force injuries to the victim’s head and neck area. $57.54 in cash and several adult entertainment magazines were missing from the store.

Among the missing cash was a two-dollar bill. The store had a record of the serial number of that bill which allowed police to track it.

Raymond steele, the half-brother of Raymond Rowsey, was apprehended when he tried to pass the bill. After initially denying any involvement, Steele eventually revealed that he was with Rowsey at the Circle K and witnessed him shoot the clerk.

Steele pled guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony at trial. A shoeprint found near the victim’s head was matched to Mr. Rowsey, and he was in possession of the murder weapon both before and after the crime.

Two inmates at the county jail testified for Rowsey, claiming that they heard Steele admit that Rowsey was not the shooter.

Citations:

Rowsey v. Lee, 124 S.Ct. 484 (2003) (Cert. Denied).
Rowsey v. Lee, 123 S.Ct. 276 (2002) (Cert. Denied).
Rowsey v. Lee, 327 F.3d 335 (4th Cir. 2003) (Habeas).
Rowsey v. Lee, 117 S.Ct. 1087 (1997) (Cert. Denied).
State v. Rowsey, 472 S.E.2d 903 (N.C. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

Final Meal:

Pizza, chicken wings, two packages of peanut M&M candy and a Pepsi.

Final Words:

None.

ClarkProsecutor.org

North Carolina Department of Correction

Raymond Dayle Rowsey

DOC Number: 0353653
DOB: 04/11/1971
RACE: WHITE
SEX: MALE
DATE OF CONVICTION: 10/01/93
COUNTY OF CONVICTION: ALAMANCE COUNTY

Chronology of Events

1/9/2003 - Raymond Dayle Rowsey executed at 2:00 a.m.

1/8/2003 - Governor Mike Easley denies clemency

1/8/2003 - U.S. Supreme Court votes 5-4 to lift stay, allowing execution to proceed.

1/8/2003 - U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel splits 2-1, upholding Judge Boyle's stay.

1/7/2004 - U.S. District Court judge Terrence Boyle stays Rowsey's execution.

1/7/2004 - Witnesses named for Rowsey execution.

12/1/2003 - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck sets execution date for Jan. 9, 2004.

11/3/2003 - U.S. Supreme Court denies Rowsey's petition for a writ of certiorari

7/31/1996 - NC Supreme Court affirms Rowsey's conviction and sentence of death.

10/1/1993 - Rowsey sentenced to death in Alamance County Superior Court for the murder of Howard Sikorski.

Date: January 8, 2004, 11:25 p.m.

GOV. EASLEY DENIES CLEMENCY IN ROWSEY CASE

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley today denied the clemency request of Raymond Dayle Rowsey, a convicted murderer scheduled for execution at 2:00 a.m. on Friday, January 9, 2004.

Rowsey is on death row for the March 24, 1992, shooting death of 20-year-old Howard Rue Sikorski in Alamance County. Rowsey was also convicted of Robbery with a dangerous weapon and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

"Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reason to invalidate the sentence recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts," said Easley.

U.S. SUPREME COURT - THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2004 - ORDER IN PENDING CASE

03A576 BECK, SEC., NC DOC, ET AL. V. ROWSEY, RAYMOND D., ET AL.

The application to vacate the stay of execution of sentence of death entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on January 7, 2004, presented to the Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court, is granted. Justice Stevens, Justice Souter, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Breyer would deny the application to vacate the stay of execution.

Date: January 7, 2004

Witnesses Selected for Raymond Dayle Rowsey execution

RALEIGH- Witnesses have been named for the execution of Raymond Dayle Rowsey, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Jan. 9 at 2 a.m. at Central Prison in Raleigh.

Official Witnesses
Robert F. Johnson – District Attorney, Alamance County
Chief Michael Gauldin – Burlington Police Department
Kevin Crowder – deputy chief, Burlington Police Department
Capt. David Hedgecock – Alamance County Sheriff’s Department (former SBI agent)
Jerry Webster – State Bureau of Investigation (Retired)

Note: Family members of murder victim Howard Rue Sikorski have indicated they do not wish to witness the execution.

Media Witnesses
John Harbin – The Alamance News, Graham
Sharon Hodge – The Times-News, Burlington
Debra Morgan – WRAL-TV
Estes Thompson – Associated Press

Date: December 2, 2003 - Execution date set for Raymond Dayle Rowsey

RALEIGH - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck has set Jan. 9, 2004 as the execution date for inmate Raymond Dayle Rowsey. The execution is scheduled for 2:00 a.m. at Central Prison in Raleigh.

On Oct. 1, 1993, Rowsey was sentenced to death in Alamance County Superior Court for the March 1992 murder of Howard Rue Sikorski.

Rowsey also received a 40-year concurrent sentence for robbery with a dangerous weapon. Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk will explain the execution procedures during a media tour scheduled for Monday, Jan. 5 at 10:00 a.m.

Interested media representatives should arrive at Central Prison’s visitor center promptly at 10:00 a.m. on the tour date. The session will last approximately one hour. The media tour will be the only opportunity to photograph the execution chamber and deathwatch area before the execution. Journalists who plan to attend the tour should contact the Department of Correction Public Affairs Office at (919) 716-3700 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2.

ProDeathPenalty.com

On the evening of March 23, 1992, Raymond Rowsey and his half brother, Raymond Lee Steele, were hanging out at Steele’s house, playing cards and listening to the radio.

Shortly after midnight, the two men decided to walk to a local Circle K convenience store. They arrived at the store around 1:00 a.m. Once at the store, the men obtained some change from the store clerk, Howard Rue Sikorski, and played several dollars worth of video games.

Next, they went to the back of the store to look at the movie display. Rowsey then decided he wanted to buy a snack. Steele gave Rowsey two dollars and Rowsey picked up two bags of M&M’s and paid for them at the counter.

Rowsey then pulled a gun out of his coat, pointed it at Sikorski, and clicked the gun without firing it. He turned and smiled at Steele, telling Steele that he had scared the store clerk with a water gun. The gun, however, was not a water gun.

Rowsey turned back towards the victim and shot him in the face. After the victim fell to the floor, Rowsey leaned over the counter and shot him again. Rowsey then ran around the counter, fired at least two more shots, and kicked the victim three or four times in the back of the head.

Steele ran out of the store and Rowsey ran out after him, still carrying the gun in one hand and something else underneath his arm.

During the walk home, Steele asked Rowsey why he shot the victim. Rowsey said he was initially just playing, but he thought that he saw the victim reaching underneath the counter for a gun. Rowsey later told Steele that he kicked the victim to ensure that the victim died.

He also told Steele, however, that the victim was still alive and gasping for air when Rowsey ran out of the store. Back at Steele’s house, Rowsey counted the cash that he had taken from the Circle K cash register. He told Steele that he had grabbed the money to make the shooting look like a robbery and to make the shooting worthwhile.

In total, Rowsey took $54 in cash and several adult magazines from the store. Steele would not accept half of the money, but did accept a two-dollar bill that had been taken from the register. He also cleaned the murder weapon for Rowsey and provided Rowsey with bullets to reload the gun.

The victim’s body was discovered at approximately 2:00 a.m. on March 24. An autopsy revealed six gunshot wounds: one to the face, one to the back of the neck, one to the right side of the head, and three to the back.

The autopsy also revealed several blunt-force injuries to the victim’s head and neck area. Store managers determined that $57.54 in cash and several adult entertainment magazines were missing from the store. Among the missing cash was a two-dollar bill. The store had a record of the serial number of that bill which allowed police to track it.

On the afternoon of March 24, Steele attempted to make a purchase with the marked two-dollar bill and was arrested shortly thereafter. Steele initially made several false statements denying any involvement in the murder, but he eventually admitted that he was present during the murder.

Rowsey was arrested later that day and subsequently charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. Steele pled guilty to second-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in exchange for his testimony at trial.

At trial, Rowsey tried to finger Steele as the shooter. Rowsey questioned Steele regarding a letter that Steele had written to Rowsey that allegedly concluded with the phrase "even though you didn’t do it." Steele admitted to writing the letter, but denied writing the concluding line.

Rowsey also introduced testimony from two jail inmates who testified that they overheard conversations between Rowsey and Steele during which Steele acknowledged that he, not Rowsey, had killed the victim. The State countered this testimony, however, with substantial evidence indicating that Rowsey was the shooter.

The State introduced evidence of Rowsey’s shoe prints in the blood around the victim’s head, and evidence that Rowsey possessed the murder weapon both before and after the murder. Furthermore, Steele provided extensive testimony recounting the events of the murder and bolstering the State’s claim that Rowsey was the shooter.

Given the weight of the evidence, the jury concluded that Rowsey was indeed the shooter and convicted him of both first- degree murder and armed robbery. At sentencing, Rowsey introduced evidence indicating that he had come from a broken home and suffered a difficult childhood.

The State introduced evidence that Rowsey had broken into a church and stolen $900 worth of items only weeks before the murder. The State also introduced evidence of Rowsey’s prior criminal record, which included fifteen counts of injury to personal property in 1990, one count of possession of a malt beverage by a minor in 1990, and two counts of misdemeanor larceny in 1991. The jury returned a recommendation of death. On October 1, 1993, the trial judge entered judgment and sentenced Rowsey to death.

Rowsey is put to death; Easley denies clemency after high court lifts stay

By Matthew Eisley and Catherine Clabby - Raleigh News & Observer

Friday, January 9, 2004

Convicted murderer Raymond Dayle Rowsey was put to death early today, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a judge's stay of his execution. The ruling ended a week of litigation over the legality of North Carolina's method of lethal injection.

Gov. Mike Easley denied Rowsey's clemency request late Thursday, clearing the way for his execution minutes after 2 a.m. at Central Prison in Raleigh. Rowsey, 32, was sentenced to die for the 1992 shooting death of Burlington convenience store clerk Howard Sikorski. The Supreme Court's order, issued about 7:50 p.m. Thursday by a 5-4 vote, did not address the substance of a federal lawsuit that Rowsey and three other death row inmates filed Jan. 2.

The lawsuit argued that North Carolina's method of lethal injection risks killing people while they're awake, so it's cruel and unusual punishment, which is unconstitutional.

In 1998, the state made lethal injection its only form of execution -- eliminating lethal gas as an option -- because it was considered more humane than the gas chamber, the electric chair and other methods. Rowsey's lawsuit was part of a national surge in scrutiny of how states execute convicted murderers.

It involves medical science and legal ethics and, ultimately, the question of whether any form of capital punishment is adequately humane. No court has ruled on the merits of the criticism of North Carolina's lethal-injection method. Inmates are likely to continue raising the same objection to the execution drugs. Similar lawsuits are under way in Virginia, Texas, Tennessee and Ohio.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the state Wednesday not to execute Rowsey while federal courts decided whether they could consider the lawsuit. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., which has jurisdiction over North Carolina, left the stay in place Thursday afternoon. It also put Rowsey's case on hold, pending the outcome of another case like it from Alabama that awaits action in the Supreme Court.

But the state appealed immediately to the Supreme Court, which overruled Boyle and the 4th Circuit. Voting to lift the stay were Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Voting to leave the stay intact were Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

The legal issue was whether lawsuits like Rowsey's constitute a repetitive appeal of the death sentence, which federal law prohibits; or a different kind of legal challenge, alleging a government violation of a constitutional right, that can go forward. The state's lawyers argued to the Supreme Court that a stay for Rowsey "would have the predictable effect of causing every death row inmate in a lethal-injection state to file similar frivolous lawsuits in an attempt to bring about a de facto moratorium on the death penalty."

Execution method

During the day Thursday, Rowsey visited with his lawyers and relatives, The Associated Press reported. He was able to hold his 11-year-old daughter for the first time since he entered prison. On previous visits, prison bars and glass separated them. Pamela Walker, a Correction Department spokeswoman, said Rowsey ate a last meal of pizza, chicken wings, two packages of peanut M&M candy and a Pepsi.

North Carolina, like most states with the death penalty, uses a combination of three drugs to execute convicted murderers. One puts the inmate to sleep, the second stops the heart, and the third stops the inmate's breathing by paralyzing his muscles. Executioners administer double doses of the anesthetic and the heart-stopper, for a total of five injections, one after the other, in IV lines of saline in each arm. The inmate, who has been strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber, is checked for vital signs and declared dead five minutes after his heart stops.

But the inmates' lawyers say the anesthetic could wear off before the drugs that stop the heart and lungs cause death. The dying inmate could wake up in intense pain but paralyzed and unable to communicate his distress or even open his eyes, they say.

Lawyers for the state said that is baseless speculation. "There is no credible argument that lethal injection is cruel or unusual punishment," Steven Arbogast, a special deputy attorney general, wrote in the state's filing with the Supreme Court. The "massive dosage" of the drugs involved, including enough of each of the heart-stopper and the lung-stopper to kill someone, ensures that the method works as intended, the filing said.

A deadly cocktail

The drugs used in executions were developed for medical use. The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Medical Association oppose doctors participating in executions. The executioners at Central Prison are not doctors. Critics question whether they have adequate expertise to prepare or administer correct doses.

The muscle relaxer pancuronium bromide, critics charge, might mask intense pain experienced by inmates who are conscious. Too little research into the effects of the drug combinations has been pursued, they say.

In an affidavit in a similar lawsuit in Ohio, Dr. Mark Heath, a Columbia University assistant professor of anesthesiology, spelled it out more dramatically. "If the inmate is not first successfully anesthetized, then it is my opinion ... that the pancuronium will paralyze all voluntary muscles and mask external, physical indications of excruciating pain" caused partly by the heart-stopper, he said.

The trouble is, no one knows. Rowsey's lawyers argued that inmates' pain could go undetected, while also arguing that several inmates in recent years have appeared to struggle as they died. John Booth, a Duke University assistant professor of anesthesiology, said that given the high doses that North Carolina prison officials say they use, it is quite unlikely that death row inmates feel pain during executions. "It's extremely likely that they would die before feeling anything," Booth said.

Death-penalty debate

The issue of the state's method of lethal injection has arisen as state lawmakers are considering a two-year moratorium on executions while they study alleged flaws in the state's death penalty system. The state Senate approved the moratorium last year. The House of Representatives could vote on it this year. Easley, a former prosecutor and former attorney general and a supporter of the death penalty, has refused to say whether he would veto a moratorium bill.

Rowsey had asked Easley to convert his sentence to life in prison without parole, on the grounds that he suffered abuse during childhood and that one of his trial jurors voted for the death penalty under pressure and meant to vote against it. Easley would not meet with the juror.

Alamance County District Attorney Rob Johnson had urged Easley to let Rowsey's execution go forward. Sikorski's murder -- with three shots to the head, and three while he was on the floor -- was particularly brutal, he said. "I don't think that we ought to forget about the victim," he said. Easley denied Rowsey clemency shortly before midnight, and Rowsey prepared to die.

Rowsey executed for 1992 slaying of store clerk

By Estes Thompson - Fayetteville Online

AP - January 9, 2004

RALEIGH (AP) - A North Carolina man was executed early Friday for the 1992 killing of a store clerk after failed appeals that focused on whether lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Raymond Dayle Rowsey was pronounced dead at 2:23 a.m. following a lethal injection at Central Prison in Raleigh, according to Department of Correction spokeswoman Pam Walker. Rowsey was the first prisoner to be executed this year in North Carolina. Seven prisoners were executed in 2003. Rowsey was sentenced to death for the March 24, 1992, slaying of Alamance County convenience store clerk Howard R. Sikorski.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday night that Rowsey's execution could proceed. The state of North Carolina had asked the high court to overturn rulings of lower courts. Earlier the same day, a 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals panel rule 2-1 to uphold a stay issued Wednesday night by a lower court judge.

Rowsey lost his final legal challenge late Thursday when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency. "Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reason to invalidate the sentence recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts," Easley said in a statement. Defense lawyers had asked Easley to block Rowsey's execution by using clemency power to change the death sentence to life in prison without parole. They contend one juror did not intend to vote for the death sentence and that Rowsey didn't get state help he needed to compensate for a childhood that centered on alcohol and drugs.

During the day Thursday, Rowsey visited with family and attorneys. Rowsey's mother, Barbara Thompson, said the family had been hopeful that courts would spare her 32-year-old son's life. During the visitation Rowsey was able to hold his 11-year-old daughter for the first time since he entered prison. On previous visits, he had been separated by prison bars and glass. "He has never touched her," Thompson said. "This is a major event. He lit up like a Christmas tree." Rowsey ordered a last meal of pizza, chicken wings, two packages of peanut M&M candy and a Pepsi, said Department of Correction spokeswoman Pamela Walker.

The case went to the high court after U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle of Elizabeth City granted a stay Wednesday. Boyle said attorneys who argued that lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment should have a hearing. Lawyers for Rowsey and three others on North Carolina death row sought to delay their clients' executions at least until the U.S. Supreme Court rules this year in a separate case involving a condemned Alabama prisoner.

In the Alabama case, lethal injection was called unconstitutionally cruel because an inmate's arm would have to be cut open to reach a vein to accommodate the needle. Veins near the surface of the inmate's arm were damaged and unsuitable for injection. The wait for a high court decision also put on hold a Virginia execution originally scheduled for last month, in which the condemned inmate also has damaged blood vessels.

In Rowsey's case, attorneys argued that North Carolina's use of thiopental sodium, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride would cause him and other condemned prisoners to "suffer excruciatingly painful and protracted deaths." "The way they are administrated may actually disable the defendant from being able to express the pain" they are feeling, said Jim Exum Jr. of Greensboro, one of Rowsey's lawyers and a former state Supreme Court chief justice.

The appeal included affidavits from two defense lawyers who had watched their clients die and said they appeared to suffer during the procedures. "I certainly wouldn't characterize it as apparent peacefulness," said Ken Rose, director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, whose office also filed for Rowsey and other death row inmates. "In other words, they're being tortured."

The state told the Supreme Court that the argument against lethal injection was incorrect. The state also contended the lower court judge lacked jurisdiction to issue the stay because Rowsey already had a round of federal appeals and didn't have a new legal issue. "Arguments regarding possible problems with therapeutic dosages ignore the massive dosage actually administered in the lethal injection process," the state said.

North Carolina first uses 1,500 mg of thiopental sodium to put the inmate in a deep sleep. That drug is followed with potassium chloride to stop the heart and Pavulon to paralyze muscles and another potassium chloride injection. Those chemicals are followed with another huge dose of thiopental sodium, the state said. In an affidavit, Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk said he had observed 18 executions and didn't see any signs that inmates suffered.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Raymond Rowsey, NC - Jan. 9, 2:00 AM EST

The state of North Carolina is scheduled to execute Raymond Rowsey, a white man, Jan. 9 for the 1992 murder of Howard Sikorski at a Circle K in Alamance County. The execution is scheduled for 2:00 AM. There were two people involved in Mr. Sikorski’s murder, Mr. Rowsey and his half-brother Raymond Steele, who received a charge of second degree murder in exchange for his testimony.

The cash register was emptied after Mr. Sikorski was killed, and a planted $2 bill was stolen. The serial number on the bill was noted and Mr. Steele was eventually apprehended after he spent it. He told police that he was not involved in the murder; his brother, Mr. Rowsey, had shot Mr. Sikorski and then taken the money to make it look like a robbery. Mr. Steele said that he had refused Mr. Rowsey’s offer to split the money, but had accepted the $2 bill.

The defense presented two witnesses, Robert Eastwood, an inmate who testified that he had overheard a conversation between Mr. Rowsey and Mr. Steele where Mr. Steele had acknowledged killing the vicim; and Gerald Wayne Flynn II, who testified that he had overheard a prison conversation between Mr. Steele and Mr. Rowsey where Mr. Steele had promised to take the blame because Mr. Rowsey was innocent.

A shoeprint found near the victim’s head was matched to Mr. Rowsey, and he was in possession of the murder weapon both before and after the crime.

However, this case is essentially one man’s word against another’s. Mr. Steele certainly had a motive to implicate Mr. Rowsey. North Carolina Department of Corrections data indicates that Mr. Steele is no longer incarcerated. Because of Steele’s plea-bargain and based almost solely on his testimony, Mr. Rowsey was arbitrarily convicted of capital murder.

Mr. Rowsey is North Carolina’s first execution scheduled for 2004. North Carolina executed seven men in the last five months of 2003, including several who were severely mentally ill. Please contact Gov. Mike Easley and urge him to declare a moratorium and commute the death sentence of Raymond Rowsey.

Supreme Court Allows Rowsey Execution in North Carolina

TheDeathHouse.com

January 9, 2004

RALEIGH, N.C. - A man who killed a convenience store clerk during a robbery was executed by lethal injection at the state prison early Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected claims that the drugs used to kill him would cause pain and suffering. Raymond Rowsey, 32, whose execution had earlier been stopped by lower courts, was brought into the death house at Central Prison after 2 a.m., administered the lethal injection of chemicals and declared dead at 2:23 a.m. Friday.

The March 23, 1992 murder that sent Rowsey to the death house was a senseless act. After killing the store clerk, Rowsey stole about $54 and two pornographic magazines, court documents stated. Governor Mike Easley refused to grant Rowsey clemency.

Does It Hurt?

The overriding issue in the Rowsey case came to be whether lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Lawyers for Rowsey managed to get a U.S. District Court judge Wednesday to stay the execution and a federal court of appeals to uphold the ruling. However, the state Attorney General appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 to allow the Rowsey execution to proceed. If the ruling was allowed to stand, all executions would have stopped in North Carolina until the issue was resolve. Rowsey was the first condemned killer executed in North Carolina in 2004. Last year, seven condemned murderers were executed.

'Bama Case Spurs Appeals

The U.S. Supreme Court last year stopped the execution in Alabama of David Nelson . Nelson's lawyers argue that lethal injection would be cruel and unusual punishment because Nelson's veins had collapsed and incisions would have to be made to insert the lethal needle into him.

Lawyers for Rowsey, and others trying to stave-off executions around the U.S., claim that the lethal mix of drugs used in the execution process is cruel. Generally, states use three drugs during executions: one puts the condemned person to sleep; another stops his heart; the third paralyzes muscles so the man can't breathe. The lawyers in North Carolina contend that the drug that puts the condemned prisoner to sleep could wear off before the others take affect.

From Video Games To Murder

In the murder of the store clerk, the key testimony that sent Rowsey to the execution chamber was given by his half brother, who was in the store with Rowsey when the slaying occurred. The victim, Howard Rue Sikorski, was shot six times and had been kicked in the head, an autopsy revealed. Rowsey and his half-brother, Raymond Lee Steele, went to the convenience store at about 1 a.m. After playing video games, Steele gave Rowsey money to buy a snack.

Just 'Playing'

While at the register, Rowsey pulled a gun and pointed it at the victim, pretending to fire it, court documents stated. Rowsey then turned and smiled at Steele, saying that he had scared the clerk with a water gun, according to Steele's testimony. It was a real gun. But, Rowsey then turned toward the victim and shot him in the face. Sikorski fell to the floor.

More shots were fired and Rowsey then kicked the victim in the head several times, Steele testified. Later, Steele asked Rowsey why he shot the victim. Rowsey said that initially, he was just "playing" but then thought he saw the clerk reach for a gun, court documents stated. Rowsey later said he kicked the victim to make sure he was dead. Steele later cleaned the murder weapon for Rowsey and provided more bullets to reload the gun.

Tries To Blame Step-Brother

Steele was first arrested for the murder. He was linked to the case by a marked two dollar bill that had been taken during the robbery. Steele initially lied about being involved, court documents stated, but quickly admitted he was present and fingered Rowsey as the killer. Steele later plead guilty to second-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in exchange for his testimony at trial.

During the trial, Rowsey tried to finger Steele as the killer. A letter from Steele to Rowsey, introduced as evidence, ended with the words, "even though you didn't do it." Steele admitted writing the letter, but denied writing the concluding sentence.

Also, two inmates testified that they overheard a conversation between Rowsey and Steele, during which Steele said that he, not Rowsey, killed the victim. But there was physical evidence against Rowsey. His bloody shoeprints were found near the victim's head. There was evidence that he possessed the murder weapon before and after Sikorski was killed.