Lincoln twins still await fate
in Colorado jail for murder
By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
Four young men facing murder
charges in Denver are still in jail await
ing trial for the October stabbing of
another man.
Twin brothers David and Kevin
Bills, both former UNL students, and
their two companions, Joshua Wright
and Kevin Snyder, face first-degree
murder charges for their role jn the
death of Patrick Perry.
The four men have been in jail
since the Oct. 3 incident that centered
on a domestic dispute between Perry
and Monica Greenwood, Perry’s girl
friend.
On March 23, a Denver judge will
consider evidentiary motions in all
four cases before continuing with other
pretrial motions, Deputy District
Attorney Mike Little said.
But police and defense attorneys
differ in their accounts of the events
leading up to the stabbing.
Phil Cherney and Jim Castle,
defense attorneys for the Bills brothers,
called the actions of the four men -
who broke up a domestic dispute
between Perry and Greenwood - hero
ic.
Police said the four men hunted
i—
down and attacked Perry after their ini
tial meeting.
The Rev. Patrick Demmer, senior
pastor at Graham Memorial Church of
God in Christ where Perry was a dea
con, called the good Samaritan defense
absolutely false.
David Bills, 22, of Council Bluffs,
Iowa, was a senior at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall semester
and went to Denver in October to visit
his brother Kevin, also 22, who was a
senior at Metropolitan State College.
Snyder, 19, of Omaha, went with
David Bills to Denver where they met
Kevin Bills and Wright, 18, of Arvada,
Colo.
That Friday night, the four men,
along with some other friends, went to
the Ogden Theatre, a Denver concert
hall, before returning to Kevin Bills’
apartment near where the attack hap
pened, according to the police affidavit
The four men saw Perry, 34, attack
ing Greenwood and stopped the attack.
When police arrived, Perry and
Greenwood had left, but the four men -
who police said were dressed like skin
heads - told police they would look for
the suspect
Perry is black and all four of the
suspects are white, but police said the
attack was not racially motivated.
At this point, defense attorneys said
the four men went back to Kevin Bills’
apartment where they stayed until
Perry showed up on their doorstep
threatening them and brandishing a
weapon.
Cherney, who is David Bills’
lawyer, said that a fight ensued, and
that is when Perry was stabbed.
Demmer, Perry's minister, said that
scenario was ridiculous.
“Perry was not a fool,” Demmer
said. “He would not have been foolish
enough to try to take on four men.”
Police reports tell a different story
from that offered by the defense attor
neys.
Police were called back to the same
area 1 A hours after the domestic dis
pute and found Perry lying in the street
with several stab wounds.
A witness described the four men
attacking Perry.
In interviews at the police station
later, David Bills admitted to stabbing
Perry twice in the back after a fight
started between Perry and Kevin Bills.
After the attack, Kevin Bills called
a friend and said, “We beat the hell out
of that guy; I don’t know what to do. I
don’t want to go to jail.”
Inside Kevin Bills’ apartment,
police found the butterfly knife used in
the attack, a blood-stained T-shirt and
blood stains on the carpet
^MDS Harris
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Event honors women
in athletics, fitness
Awards presented for outstanding feats
By Josh Nichols
Staff writer
Fear. Everyone has it, and many
try to avoid it. But athletes are forced
to face their fears every time they
compete.
Two-time Nebraska volleyball
All-American Christy Johnson
stressed this point to an audience of
female athletes at a luncheon to rec
ognize women in sports and fitness.
She was the featured speaker at
the “All Girls Allowed” event held
Saturday at the Holiday Inn
Downtown, 141 N. Ninth St.
Athletes from the University of
Nebraska-Lhicoln, Nebraska
Wesleyan University and Lincoln
Public Schools attended the banquet.
Johnson, who was starting setter
on Nebraska’s 1995 national cham
pionship team, received snickers
from the audience when she gave
examples of beliefs held by mothers
and grandmothers at one time about
women in athletics, including the
claim that playing sports would ruin
me woman s body.
She responded to these claims by
saying, “We know die female athlete
is not fragile and will not buckle
under pressure.”
Johnson said that being an ath
lete taught her to overcome her fears
and be able to face adversity.
“I felt like every time I touched
the ball, I had a chance to face my
fears,” she said.
“I knew we wouldn’t win if I didn’t
face what I was most afraid of.”
Johnson said her experiences
playing volleyball taught her lessons
that she would carry with her for the
rest of her life.
"" “Volleyball gave me memories
that I can call up anytime I need
them,” Johnson said,
After Johnson’s speech, awards
were presented to women who have
incorporated health and fitness into
their lifestyles. x
Cathy Noth, assistant coach for
the NU volleyball team last season,
was presented with the Mentor of the
Year award for her work with women
in sports and fitness fields.
___
fcfc
/like every
time I touched the
ball, I had a
chance to face
my fears.
Christy Johnson
two-time volleyball All-American
Noth, who was the setters coach,
recently resigned from her position
on the coaching staff.
Lincoln health and fitness enthu
siast Gina Simanek was the recipient
of the Spirit award.
Simanek suffered potentially dis
abling head injuries when she was
assaulted in 1992.
Because of what her doctors
called superior conditioning,
Simanek was able to rehabilitate and
recover mentally and physically.
Since the incident, she has
earned her master’s degree in psy
chology and has competed in four
half-marathons across the country.
Lela Pierce, who began swim
ming competitively 13 years ago at
the age of 64, was presented with the
Courage award for overcoming can
cer and a stroke two years ago, and
returning to swimming.
“I strongly recommend swim
ming for anyone my age,” Pierce
said. “It is something we can still
do.”
Scott Young, the host of the
event, is the programming director
for KFOR radio. Kim Robak, former
lieutenant governor and now NU
vice president for external affairs,
was the event’s honorary chair
woman.
Robak, who has never competed
in athletics, told the audience mem
bers they were true role models.
“Even when you’re afraid, you do
the best you can,” she said.
“(Young women) idolize you and
want to be like you. I thank you for
that”
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