Defendant’s Wife Testifies in Land Access Shooting Trial

The wife of an Augusta-area man charged with killing their neighbor in a rural subdivision said the neighbor was harassing them, acting erratically and appeared to be ready for a confrontation over land access in the minutes before he was shot.

Tani Converse testified in District Court on Thursday and Friday. Her husband, Joe Campbell, is charged with deliberate homicide in the Oct. 18, 2013 death of Timothy Newman.

Converse said Newman rode an all-terrain vehicle while following her and Campbell up a road to a gate on their property.

Converse said her husband told her to go call the sheriff. While she was on her way to a cabin with a land line she said she heard two pops she thought could be gunshots. However, prosecutors noted she didn't report the suspected shots during the 911 call.