April Loper
NEWPORT -- A woman killed in a recent car crash was in the midst of a fight to put away a man she claimed brutally attacked her.
But now her family fears without April Loper alive to testify, the criminal case could be dismissed, and accused attacker Thomas Acosta, 51, could be a free man.
"We are fearful for everyone involved," said Kathy Wagner, of Shedd, who was April Loper's aunt.
Loper, 32, of Newport and her father Daniel Loper, 57, of Toledo
after a pickup crossed into their lane. Loper's son, now 3 months old, survived the crash.
The trial was set to begin last Tuesday, with Acosta facing charges that include first-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, first-degree rape, three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, coercion, two counts of strangulation, three counts of fourth-degree assault, menacing and unlawful use of a weapon.
Thomas Acosta
But with Loper dead, her statements to law enforcement are not admissible. Lincoln County Deputy Chief District Attorney Marcia Buckley sought Tuesday to win exceptions to hearsay rules that would have allowed Loper's statements to the nurse who conducted her medical exam, as well as statements to friends and family.
But Lincoln County Circuit Judge Charles Littlehales ruled the testimony would not be allowed, leaving the county prosecutors with little evidence remaining.
Buckley won't discuss the case because it is ongoing, but court documents depict a violent attack that left Loper, 32, fearing for her life and the lives of her family, and left her vulnerable to a second attack that lasted for more than a week.
Loper and Acosta had begun seeing each other in about October 2011, Wagner said. Loper was a fun-loving, down-to-earth person, who loved nature, music and being around people, she said.
But that bright character soon darkened as Loper grew afraid of Acosta, too afraid to end things with him, Wagner said. Then, on Dec. 15, while working in her shop in Newport's Aquarium Village, Acosta attacked her, court documents say.
According to the documents, when she hit him back, he knocked her unconscious.
The documents say she awoke in the loft of the shop, bound with electrical tape. Throughout the night, Acosta repeatedly assaulted, sodomized and raped Loper, court papers say.
In the morning, he let her go, but stayed close by whenever she was around others, the papers say. Loper eventually confided in friends, but "swore them to secrecy ... convinced if she went to the police Acosta would make good on his threats to her and her family," court documents say.
When Acosta showed up on Christmas Eve, she got in his van and left with him to protect her family from him, the documents say.
"April is so kindhearted, she didn't want anything to happen to her family," Wagner said. "She was scared. She said she wanted to go home. "
Meanwhile, Loper's family waited for her to join them in their Christmas celebration. When she didn't show, they called police and reported their suspicion that Acosta had harmed her.
While they waited and worried, Acosta apparently drove Loper to Redding, Calif., where the rape, assault and threats allegedly continued. By New Year's Day, Loper managed to escape and was able to get help. Acosta fled, but was arrested several weeks later and has been in the Lincoln County jail since.
Loper was not the only woman to accuse Acosta of violence.
According to court documents, he also sexually assaulted, repeatedly raped and threatened to harm a former girlfriend in Washington, assaulted and threatened to kill a former girlfriend in Texas, and sexually assaulted a male acquaintance in California. Court proceedings here are set to continue Monday.
Wagner fears it could be the day Acosta goes free.
"We want everybody to see his mug shot," Wagner said. "We want everyone to know what he looks like, to see who he is and stay away from him."
--