On February 18, both prosecution and defense cited case law on the question of whether the absence was voluntary. A state code section says a court trial in a noncapital felony case can continue without the defendant if the absence is voluntary.
    Finally in an afternoon session the court ruled that he saw nothing to indicate the absence was involuntary, especially in light of the defendant’s leaving the hospital against medical orders in order to go home and try and do it again.


IN THE DARK CANYONS OUTSIDE LAYTONVILLE, there are many secrets.

 Love-Hate Relationship
    Terry Cohen and his deceased victim Sean Piper were longtime associates in marijuana crime. Sometimes they were rivals. Cohen reportedly grew "giant" marijuana plants on his Woodman Creek Road property near Laytonville. Piper sometimes was a traveling marijuana salesman.
   According to defense testimony, Cohen had called Piper "a fag," alleged Piper had stolen coins and marijuana from him, and told people that he feared Piper who at times was living on Cohen's land. This was circumstantial evidence of a self-defense motive on Cohen's part.
    Cohen allegedly killed the victim in Cohen's home by shooting him multiple times with two different weapons at all angles in September, 2008.
   The episode began in the upstairs bedroom and continued downstairs and onto the front yard. At one point they grappled and rolled around on the living room floor, when they were interrupted by an associate of Cohen's who "punched Sean off of Terry."
    Cohen surrendered peacefully to officers who responded to a 911 call.  On the way to the station for questioning, he pined for a quick execution, stating he did not want to spend a long time in jail waiting. He had also overdosed the night of the shooting.
       Cohen is a tall, dark gaunt man who has the appearance of a Shakespearean actor with decades of methamphetamine or heroin use. In court he alternately figitted, wept, and swooned, frequently diving under the defense table to retrieve some object, and stuffing his long, unkempt greasy black hair into his purple satin shirt.          

The Closing Arguments
    Before re-argument on the 24th, the court instructed the jury they were not to speculate or attempt to learn why the defendant was not in the courtroom, nor why the case had been continued. He also defined the crimes of murder, first and second degree, and manslaughter voluntary and involuntary. He spent time explaining the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence, and instructed they were equally valid to establish intent.
    Elliot eloquently explained that if the people could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was acting with specific intent to commit first degree murder "unlawful killing with malice aforethought" meaning "deliberate and willful intent" he must be found not guilty of that charge. She and prosecutor McMenomee repeated the definitions of second degree murder, "an unlawful killing with malice but without premeditation and deliberation," and voluntary manslaughter which is a killing without malice or with imperfect intent, and involuntary manslaughter which is a killing with criminal negligence indifferent to the consequences.
    Elliot said if they believed Cohen killed the victim under the belief that Piper was in his home to rob or harm him physically, even if it were not true, then he was not guilty of any crime. She argued it was self defense which is protected under a "Home Protection Bill of Rights" which she said gives the benefit of the doubt to the residents of a home who injure or kill a forceable intruder in order to eject them from the home. She said Cohen had a reasonable belief that the victim had come to rob or harm him because of their past association which was laid out at trial. Said as a homeowner the defendant had a right to keep shooting until the victim was dead if that would end the perceived danger.
    Prosecutor McMenomee disected this argument by emphasizing that the defendant's actions would only be justified if he had a reasonable belief of immanent danger of death or great bodily harm. He pointed to evidence that as far as Sean was concerned the meeting was to be amiable. He had called the defendant in advance and arrived with a six pack of beer and $10,000 in cash.
    Rather rushed in his presentation and sometimes mumbling, the prosecutor said that intent can be shown by circumstantial evidence. He presented text on an overhead projector which showed the meticulous steps the defendant took to obtain ammunition and load two pistols, a Kimber and a Ruger. Another card showed what steps were required to fire how many shots from each weapon, including cocking, firing and re-aiming the revolver.
    On the stand, the defendant, who was mentally uncertain during testimony, stated he had ordered the victim to pull his fingers out of his pocket and interlace them across his chest. When Piper did not comply, "I shot him in the leg," Cohen testified. The victim had eleven gunshot wounds, some fired inside the house, and some outside while the victim was on the ground, according to expert testimony. One shot was to the back of the head, causing instant death. The pocket did not contain a weapon, but the money, apparently.
    The defendant had no defensive wounds and admitted murder to a deputy in the patrol car on the way to the station. He also said he would prefer a quick death sentence. Police reported that 22 marijuana plants, processed marijuana and cash were found at the scene of the shooting.