Seven years later,
man guilty in death
By Michelle Starr -
Staff writer
■, A jury came back with a guilty ver
dict Wednesday night, seven years after
a Lincoln woman was killed.
„,v Clifford Davlin, 47, was found
gyjlty in Lancaster County District
Court of second-degree murder for the
strangulation of his girlfriend, Tammi
Ligenza, on Sept 7,1993.
- , Davlin was also found guilty <$f
first-degree arson for setting fire to the
27-year-old woman’s apartment 1640
Washington St, while her body was on
the bed inside the apartment.
An autopsy revealed Ligenza was
already dead before the fire and that she
was six months pregnant
. “We are pleased with the verdict”
said Richard Ligenza, Tammi’s father.
“We knew he was the one who commit
ted the murder.”
, Richard Ligenza said his daughter
and Davlin had a history of fighting,
ajid at the time of Tammi Ligenza’s
murder, she had kicked Davlin out of
the apartment and had a protection
order issued against Davlin.
According to Lincoln Police
Detective Del Kuhlman, the abusive
relationship began in April 1993, and
since then, several restraining orders
and assault charges had been filed.
! Police had responded to the apart
ment on a disturbance complaint the
same night of the murder. I
' The jury, who was asked by the
state for a first-degree murder convic
tion, decided during almost two days of
deliberation that Davlin had not pre
meditated the crime and therefore con
victed him of a lesser offense.
‘ Richard Ligenza thought the jury
spent enough time to come back with a
fair verdict.
' ‘ Rob Kortus, co-counsel for Davlin,
agreed and said all of the jurors paid
attention, not one of them fell asleep
and they took their time before giving a
Verdict.
1 'j Because the ca~e has been a long
time coming, it pos problems for the
trial. Davlin was r harged for the
crime until 1997.
! J “I’ve been doing this for 20 years,”
said Jerry Soucie, Davlin’s attorney.
“It’s one of the hardest trials I’ve ever
done.”
1 •f It was difficult to find witnesses
and have them remember events from
seven years ago, Soucie said.
Kortus said crucial evidenci,
including Ligenza’s trachea and larynx,
was thrown away or tainted over the
years.
Soucie said the fact an unidentified
man was seen in Ligenza’s apartment
after 1 a.m. did not work. When it came
time for a neighbor to identify the man
** We are pleased
with the verdict.
We knew he was
the one who
committed the
murder.”
Richard Ligenza
father of murder victim
in a lineup, he couldn’t remember,
Soucie said.
Deputy County Attorney Bruce
Prenda was unavailable for comment.
Richard Ligenza also agreed that
the amount of time that had passed was
a concern, but he had a different per
spective.
“We were afraid he was going to get
away with it just because of the time,”
Richard Ligenza said.
Wendy Thompson, a good friend of
Tammi Ligenza’s and a key witness for
the prosecution, had committed suicide
since Tammi Ligenza’s murder.
Other witnesses were subject to the
limitations of their memories.
This included Wade Potter, who
testified about when he met Davlin in
Sarpy County Jail, when Davlin was
arrested for sexual assault and that
Davlin bragged he had fooled the
Lincoln Police.
Potter, who was serving a seven
day sentence for driving under the
influence, said Davlin admitted to
killing his girlfriend and hid out at the
home of neighbors until they fell
asleep.
Davlin then went back to Tammi
Ligenza’s apartment, poured gasoline
over everything, started the fire, then
went back to the neighbors’ house,
Potter said.
Davlin told Potter he made it look
like a robbery, Potter said. Davlin could
face 20 years to life for the murder and
one to 50 years for the arson conviction.
Kortus said the state has asked the
court to enhance the sentence based on
the habitual-offender clause that could
add 10 years to each of Davlin’s convic
tions.
The amount of time added to sen
tences is based on criteria including
number of prior convictions and then
nature and the amount of time previ
ously spent in jail, Kortus said.
Davlin is now serving 15 to 35
years in die state penitentiary for first
degree sexual assault in Sarpy County
in 1993.
Kortus and Soucie plan to appeal
the verdict.
Observatory to hold viewing
From staff reports
The stars will be out in full effect in
Mead tonight.
The stars in the sky, that is.
The University of Nebraska
' Lincoln’s Behlen Observatory is hold
ing its spring public viewing night in
Mead from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight.
‘1 j Stargazers will be able to view the
Orion Nebula, M42, through the labo
ratory’s 30-inch telescope.
Four hot stars kijtown as the
Trapezium heat up the surrounding gas
and give the Orion Nebula a glow.
Amateur astronomers from
Lincoln and Omaha will be at the view
ing night. The amateur’s telescopes can
be used to see star clusters, as well as
Saturn, Jupiter and Mars.
Three UNL professors will also be
on hand to give special talks.
Amy Burnett, a history professor,
will speak on the life of Galileo.
Herman Batelaan, professor in physics
and astronomy, will talk about “The
Vacuum Catastrophe.”
Edward Schmidt, also a professor
in physics and astronomy, will give a
lecture on star clusters. Observers can
get to Behlen Observatory by taking
U.S. Highway 77 north to about a half
mile past Swedeburg.
Turn east on Nebraska Highway 63
and follow it for seven miles to 10th
Street, where there is a sign to Mead.
Turn left and go one mile north to
Avenue H. Turn right and continue east
about two miles to Eighth Street.
Turn left and go about 0.7 miles to
the observatory, which can be seen on
the left.
Correction
• _
Empower first vice presidential candidate Cecily Rometo did call A-Team
presidential candidate Joel Schafer and first vice Riley Peterson to congratu
late them on election night. Because of a reporting error, this was reported
incorrectly in Thursday’s Daily Nebraskan.
Professor
addresses
genocide
By Tony Moses
Staff writer
A Colgate University professor
waned Thursday night that the 20th
century’s first genocide is being
repressed from American academ
ics.
Peter Balakian, an English pro
fessor and author of “Black Dog of
Fate,” a memoir about the impact of
the Armenian genocide on his fami
ly, spoke to about 50 people in the
Nebraskan Union.
“As a kid, I was thrown these
puzzles, and at some point in my
life, I began to decode the puzzles,”
Balakian said.
Balakian’s grandmother, along
with her two daughters, were sur
vivors of the Armenian genocide.
“Everyone in her family was
murdered sitting in her house,”
Balakian said.
The Armenian genocide
occurred during World War I when
the Turkish government systemati
cally murdered Armenian citizens.
Balakian said most of the Armenian
population was killed during the
eenocide.
“I grew up in a family with a
secret,” he said. “Nobody could talk
about it openly to us.”
Balakian said the trauma experi
enced by his family had a profound
effect on him.
“No matter how hard people try
to repress trauma, it leaks through,”
he said. “My grandmother’s folk
tales and dreams could intrude on us
anytime, day or night, and one didn’t
know what to do with it.”
Balakian also spoke about what
he called the current repression of
the Armenian genocide.
“The denial of genocide is the
final stage of genocide,” he said. “It
seeks to demonize the victims and
rehabilitate the oppressors.”
The government plays an active
role in this repression, he said.
“The Turkish government
attempts to repress the Armenian
genocide has resulted in a bizarre
aftermath,” Balakian said. “I think
the construction of a very sick
nationalism is being implanted by
the Turkish military.”
Balakian said the nationalism
pressures citizens to completely
ignore the Armenian genocide.
“Turkey would help itself so
immensely by coming to terms with
its past,” he said. “It needs to be
healed with truth.”
Balakian said it is important to
bring this out in American acade
mia.
“Denial and pretending you
don’t know just don’t work in a
democracy,” he said. “You’ve got to
educate yourself.”
Mtimtaz Cimen, a senior chemi
cal engineering major who attended
the speech, challenged Balakian to
present the Turkish point of view.
“That way, it will be fair,” he
said. “I don’t see why he was so
opposed to Turkey.”
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Struggling with your classes? Need academic support?
Then we have the program for you!
Student Opportunities & Services (SOS) Program
has openings for new participants.
If you:
1. Had an ACT of 24 or below or
2. Have a current G.P.A. of 2.9 or below
AND
3. Come from a low-income family and are a first generation college
student (your parents or guardians don’t have a college degree) then you
may be eligible for our services.
Students with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.
Stop by 220 Canfield Administration or call 472-5424
for more information or to request an application.
The SOS program is federally funded. Services include: special classes
open only to SOS participants, tutoring, writing and study skills assistance
financial planning information, mentoring program, leadership
experience, and access to cultural events-all free of charge to SOS
participants.
Fiddler on the Roof
with Joseph M. Gallo III
This timeless story of family love and spiritual values beset by outside
forces and powerful changes has won numerous Broadway awards.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 6, 7, 8, 8pm
Sunday, April 9, 2pm
A collaboration of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hixson-Lied
College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Lied Center.
Generous support provided by the Burket and Sheila Graf Fund
HLied Center for Performing Arts
Tickets: 472-4747 or
1-800-432-3231
Box Office: 11 :00am-5:30pm M-F
I Website: www.unl.edu/lied/
TEN YEARS
_1 _ _ Lj®11 Ccrrter prograrraning is supported by the Friends of Lied and grants from the National Endowmentbr the Arts.
INeDIaSKa Mid-America Arts Affiance and the Nebraska Arts Council. All events are made possible by the lied Performance
gnaws™? wcojj Fund which has been established in memory of Ernst F. Lied and his parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.
