In this small Iowa town, almost everyone knew the farmer who had been killed or the farmer who had confessed to doing it. So the trial was moved to the far western part of the state, in Sioux City.

The courtroom was packed with supporters for both men. On one side sat Tom Lyon's wife and children, and on the other were Rod Heemstra's wife and parents.

Prosecutors opened their case by telling the jury the murder had been cold blooded and pre-meditated. They had a murder weapon and a confession to prove it.

(In court)
Gary Kendell (prosecutor): This case is about the defendant getting mad, losing his temper, and shooting a defenseless man.

But why would Rod Heemstra, a successful farmer who had never hurt anyone in his life, suddenly shoot Tom Lyon?

It all started, prosecutors said, when Rod Heemstra bought that farm across the street from Tom and Ronda Lyon. Heemstra was angry that Lyon wouldn't allow him to begin farming the land until after Lyon's lease was up, and the two men began fighting a war of words. But, prosecutors said, the flashpoint came a few months later, when Heemstra shut off a water to Tom Lyon's cattle and the two men ended up screaming at each other over the telephone.

(In court)
Prosecutor: Who's this a photograph of?
Ronda Lyon: A picture of Tom.

Lyon's widow, Ronda, took the stand, and testified she could hear an enraged Heemstra on the other end of the phone line.

Ronda Lyon: I remember one of the comments being, "Hey buddy nobody talks to me like that and gets by with it."

Prosecutors said the confrontations continued until Jan. 13, when Rod Heemstra -- arrogant, a man with a hair trigger temper -- was fed up.

Doug Hammerand: His temper got the best of him, and he just was so angry with Tom Lyon that he decided on that day that he had the opportunity. He had a gun available, and he used it.

Prosecutors knew the defense would soon claim self-defense and try to portray Tom Lyon as a mentally unstable man who caused the problem in the first place.

(In court)
Judge: Raise your right hand.

So they called several people who knew Lyon to paint a much different picture, a portrait of a kind-hearted and peaceful farmer.

Prosecutor: Do you have an opinion as to whether Tom Lyon was a peaceful or violent person?
Pfiffer: Um, from what of I know of Tom Lyon, he was not violent.

Cleveland: My opinion he was very peaceful.

Reynolds: I never had, uh, the opportunity to see anything other than positives and laughs and smiles come out of him.

And Lyon's widow testified that while her husband could be a hothead at times, he was hardly the kind of mentally unbalanced man who would provoke a deadly confrontation.

Prosecutor: Did you ever see him with his temper assault a human being?
Ronda Lyon: No. Uh-nuh.

But in order to prove first-degree murder, prosecutors needed to show that Heemstra had time to think, that the killing was pre-meditated and not self-defense. They called the medical examiner to the stand.

Prosecution: Did you recover a bullet fragment from Mr. Lyon's body?
Medical Examiner: Yes, I did.
Prosecution: And where was that recovered from?
Medical examiner: It was recovered from inside the head, actually within the right side of the brain.

He testified Lyon had been shot between the eyes -- too good a shot, too calculated for self-defense.

Prosecution: Do you have an opinion to within a reasonable degree of medical certainty as to the manner of death?
Medical examiner: Yes, I do.
Prosecution: And what is that opinion?
Medical examiner: Homicide.

Doug Hammerand: He shot him right between the eyes which we argued showed that he had an intent, a specific intent, to kill Tom Lyon.

Next, prosecutors argued that Rod Heemstra's actions after the murder were the actions of a guilty man. They used the testimony of a sheriff's deputy, along with a display of graphic crime scene photos, to try to prove Heemstra was a callous cold-blooded killer attempting an elaborate cover-up.

Prosecutors told the jury Heemstra had hitched Tom Lyon's body to the back of his pickup and dragged him, they said, face down along a gravel road, tearing the flesh from his face and body.

McNamara: The pants are ripped, and there's no shirt on the victim.

Prosecutors said Heemstra then drove into a nearby field where he stuffed Lyon head first into an old abandoned well and covered the well with bales of hay.

McNamara: We could see human legs sticking up out of a hole.

Finally, prosecutors said, Heemstra went home, took a bath, and astoudingly ran errands with his wife. Prosecutors said Heemstra then secretly burned his clothes and ditched the murder weapon at another one of his farms.

Douglas Hammerand: You don't expect someone to kill someone in self-defense to drag the body, hide the body, to burn the clothes you're wearing, to get rid of the murder weapon.

But the most powerful argument, prosecutors said, was what happened after detective Mike Morrison first arrived to question Rod Heemstra -- and Heemstra lied.

(In court)
Morrison: I think I said something to the effect that we were investigating the death of Tom Lyon and if he was involved in causing the death that he needed to tell me that right away.
Prosecution: What did he say?
Morrison: He said no.

The detective said Heemstra then tried to strike a bizarre deal: if police promised to let him go to a business meeting on another land deal the next day, Heemstra would tell them what happened.

Morrison: I told Mr. Heemstra that if this meeting in Algona was truly important that it would happen.
Prosecution: So what did the defendant do or say after that?
Morrison: He told me what happened.

Prosecutors then put forth the most compelling part of their case, and it was damning evidence: Rod Heemstra's tape recorded conversations, proving, they said, that this was first-degree murder.

(Police interrogation)
Heemstra: He started taunting me. He says, "Oh, look at you. I dare you" … Well, I done it. I shot once. I couldn't believe it after I'd done it.

Doug Hammerand: Just because a person's arguing and yelling and using names doesn't give another person a right to kill them.

It was clear, prosecutors said: this tape proved this was a premeditated, deliberate act.

Doug Hammerand: There was a time period, even though he was mad and angry, he had time to think and act, and that goes to premeditation. I mean, when he put that shell in the chamber, he had time to think about it. And when he pointed the gun at Tom Lyon he had time to think about it.

Finally, prosecutors said, Rod Heemstra made a bombshell of an admission proving once again that this was murder, that Heemstra was not defending himself when he shot and killed Tom Lyon.

(Police interrogation video)
Detective: You mentioned that he-- that he didn't have anything in his hands when I talked to you…
Heemstra: No.
Detective: …over there earlier?
Heemstra: No. He didn't. No. I shot a defenseless man.

Gary Kendell: The perfect quote from his statement was that he'd shot a defenseless man.

And that, prosecutors told the jury, was huge. Their point being that this was murder.

John Larson: Had this thing really been self-defense? What do you think the jury would have expected Rodney Heemstra to do the moment after the shot was fired?
Douglas Hammerand: Call for help.
John Larson: Anybody.
Douglas Hammerand: Anybody. Either law enforcement, ambulance, somebody, to get help.

(Police interrogation video)
Heemstra: It just all happened so quick...

Prosecutors had it all. A confession. A motive. And a trail of stunning, seemingly callous acts. All of which they said leaves no doubt that Heemstra should be found guilty of murder in the first degree.

But the jury was about to hear about a very differnent Tom Lyon. They were going to hear about a Jekyl and Hyde character whose temper exploded, forcing a panicked Rod Heemstra to fight for his life.

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