28-year-old Sheridan resident Shawn Osborne had his preliminary hearing in Sheridan County Circuit Court Tuesday. Osborne is charged with 1st Degree Murder for the alleged killing of Gerald Bloom at 1075 Bellevue Avenue on January 15th, 2010. State's Attorney Matt Redle called witness David Widiker-Fausset to the stand, where Fausset stated that he and Osborne had been drinking at Rails and My Buddy's Place on the night of January 14th prior to the incident.
Fausset said that after arriving at the trailer on Bellevue Avenue, it was clear to him that Osborne was angry and fired up over money situations, and that Gerald Bloom had owed him $20. Fausset claims that Osborne said, "watch this," then proceeded to enter the bedroom where Bloom was sleeping. Fausset testified that Osborne then placed Bloom into a rear naked choke hold, where the two struggled for a short time before falling off of the bed. It appeared to Fausset that Bloom had lost consciousness. That is when Fausset said he witnessed Osborne slit Bloom's throat from ear-to-ear two times, then stab Bloom in the throat several times. The autopsy report confirmed that Bloom's throat had been slit, and that it had been stabbed four times, and that asphyxia may have been a contributing factor.
Fausset testified that Osborne put the body into a red sleeping bag and drug it outside, where he placed it underneath the trailer after removing some of the skirting. There were two other occupants inside the trailer at the time of the alleged incident -- Dee Himes and her boyfriend Dennis David. Fausset stated that later that morning, they had breakfast at the Silver Spur, where Osborne said that "he'd never felt better" when asked about what had transpired just a few hours earlier. Himes reported the crime after John Neal arrived at the Bellevue residence, and she expressed to him that Osborne told her that Neal would be next. At that time, Neal took Himes to the Sheridan Police Department to report what had happened. The crime was reported by Himes at approximately 2:15 pm on January 15th.
Judge John Sampson bound the case over to 4th Judicial District Court and continued the cash bond of $150,000. Osborne remains in the Sheridan County Detention Center.
