LYING IN WAIT

The Obsessions of Tiller’s Suspect

Part of a militia group and attended doctor’s trial.

The man who is suspected of killing late-term abortion doctor George Tiller attended the physician’s trial in Kansas City two months earlier, where Tiller was acquitted of 19 charges of failing to comply with Kansas abortion laws. Two weeks ago Scott Roeder, who is a member of anti-government militia groups, spoke to a fellow anti-abortion activist about the trial. "He said he'd been down to Wichita for George Tiller's trial and he said it was an absolute sham," fellow activist Eugene Frye said. "He seemed agitated—but agitation for Scott, for a lot of people would be normal." While Frye said Roeder didn’t seem violent, his ex-wife said he was obsessed with stopping abortions, and Roeder also befriended Shelley Shannon, who shot Tiller in 1993. Roeder’s brother released a statement saying he is mentally ill.