A Perthshire lecturer convicted in the USA of trying to shoot her husband faces a fresh call that she should be retried for first degree murder.
Joanna Findlay (41), of Blairgowrie, was found guilty by a jury of attempted second degree murder and a handgun charge. She faces up to 30 years behind bars after Gary Trogdon died at the couple’s Maryland home on October 30 2010.
But Mr Trogdon’s brother Greg (51), who lives in Missouri, told The Courier he is filing for a ”wrongful death” civil suit through the American courts.
He said: ”I want her to be tried and convicted of murdering my brother. There was evidence given in court of a 911 call during which she admits to shooting at my brother. That’s why she was convicted of attempted second degree murder.
”All I read in the Scottish media is about how sweet and innocent she is; the sweet girl who was bullied by my brother and who’ll never get the chance to have children. But this is not the case. In my experience she hates kids. As far as I am concerned, none of this adds up. I’m willing to sell my vehicles and my home to see the truth come out.”
The Courier reported last week how Findlay a former Dundee College and Aberdeen University student who has family in Blairgowrie said she was ”terrified” at the possible sentence. She also expressed her fears that a lengthy prison sentence would rob her of the chance to become a mother.
Findlay was convicted following the death of Mr Trogdon (55), a former US Air Force lieutenant colonel. She was also found guilty of the statutory firearms offence of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. The American jury found that Mr Trogdon shot himself.
Findlay, who moved to America 15 years ago on a student exchange programme and married Mr Trogdon 11 years ago, had originally faced a charge of murder in the first degree.
The St Mary’s County Circuit Court heard the couple began fighting on October 30 2010 after Findlay confronted Mr Trogdon about more than 3,000 allegedly indecent images of children she found on his computer. Testimony from the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy determined Mr Trogdon was killed by a .38 calibre handgun.
But Greg Trogdon disputes the circumstances of the death and insists there was no evidence linking his brother to any paedophilic images.
Greg said: ”I fear she may have been blackmailing him with that computer. It’s my understanding she took it off him for 2 months before the shooting. How many of those images could have been hers? Why does no one ever mention her sex toys and sex tape? She’s known for being on anti-depressants and mood swings.”
He added: ”Nobody’s a saint but I think she is trying to play a game and has been persuasive enough to influence the jury in court that she’s a sweet, innocent Scottish girl.
”Don’t get me wrong, if my brother had anything to do with those images appearing on his computer then he should have been charged and should have had his day in court. But I am not aware of any evidence that he put those images on there. There were images on the computer but it was never proved they were his. It could have been anyone.
”I also dispute the suggestion that he shot himself in the chest. If you want to shoot yourself and do it properly, you shoot yourself in the head. With his military background and knowledge of guns, this doesn’t add up. I believe he must have been shot in the chest by someone else. That’s why I am filing for a ‘wrongful death’ civil suit.”
Findlay had been teaching English at Maryland University before the trial. Greg used to visit the couple regularly when they lived in Nebraska. They always seemed happy enough, he said. They had a few financial problems, he understood, and would fight over money.
Greg said his brother was ”not one to air his dirty laundry”. But it was on a camping trip with his brother and an old high school friend in 2010 that led him to first believe that the relationship may have become increasingly rocky.
”I knew they were having lots of financial problems. My brother loved animals. But they had around 50 cats. He told me she was spending $600 a month on cat food. It was all getting too much. Something wasn’t right.”
Findlay said last week that being sent to the notorious Jessup Women’s Prison in Maryland is the worst thing that could happen to her. She has been told that the best-case scenario there is a mandatory minimum of five years on the handgun charge, and that is not subject to parole. Thirty years is the maximum sentence in Maryland for attempted second degree murder.
Greg revealed that his brother had a grown-up son, now a dentist, from a previous marriage. But because she has not been convicted of murder, the state of Maryland allows Findlay to take all of Gary Trogdon’s property and belongings.
No one was available at the Blairgowrie home of Joanna’s parents, Thomas and Frieda Findlay, to comment on Greg Trogdon’s accusations.
But they earlier contacted The Courier to reveal their photographic memories of their daughter.
Upset by the continual reproduction of a grim police issue ”mugshot” of their daughter, her parents Thomas and Frieda from Blairgowrie passed on pictures from a time before the 41-year-old’s life was shattered.
Ms Findlay said that despite the support of friends and family in Scotland, the strain of the case had taken a severe toll on them.
”My parents are no longer with me but continue to support me in every way possible,” she said. ”This whole experience has had a profound effect on their lives. I believe this whole experience has had a terrible effect on their health and well-being, much of it stemming from their inability to have me set free.”
Back in Blairgowrie, Mr and Mrs Findlay have declined to elaborate on their feelings but contacted The Courier to allow the wider world to see their daughter in a different light rather than as a convicted felon.
The pictures show a smiling cat-lover with one of her pets, another enjoying a party and a relaxed snap taken from the family albums.