Murder Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Drowning His Wife

Randy Roth sat rigid and expressionless, scribbling notes on a pad, as a King County prosecutor told a jury that one of the first things Roth did after his wife drowned in Lake Sammamish was to inquire if a red Corvette he had been eyeing was still for sale.

Roth's emotion - or lack of it - likely will be touched upon by almost all the more than 100 witnesses expected to be called during his first-degree-murder trial in King County Superior Court.

They will discuss events occurring as far back as 1981 and ranging from alleged murder to insurance fraud to staged burglaries.

Roth, 37, of Bothell, is accused of drowning his fourth wife, Cynthia, in Lake Sammamish July 23 to collect $365,000 in insurance.

Prosecutors are trying to persuade a jury that Roth is a cold-blooded and calculated killer who hatched nine different schemes since 1981 to defraud insurance companies or the Social Security system.

They claim he killed his second wife, who fell from a cliff in 1981, also to collect insurance money.

Throughout yesterday's opening day, Roth remained stoic, rarely even turning his head or shoulders. He focused on his note pad as his former wife's mother testified and he carefully watched his attorneys as they cross-examined the initial witnesses.

King County Medical Examiner Donald Reay ruled last summer that Cynthia Roth's death appeared to be accidental. But prosecutors hope to demonstrate during the projected six-week trial that Roth's actions before, during and after the death show he killed his wife.

"He married for greed, not for love or compassion," said Susan Storey, senior deputy prosecutor. "He murdered for money, not hate, fear or even passion."

Roth told police he and his wife left her two children on the beach at Idlewood Park near Redmond to go rafting July 23, last year's hottest day. The couple decided to swim in a relatively secluded area.

But as she attempted to climb back in the raft, he said, she was struck by a wave created by a passing speedboat and apparently swallowed water.

Roth said the raft flipped over and he eventually found her face-down beneath it. He said he tried CPR, but could not resuscitate her, and could not see well because his glasses were tucked away in a plastic bag.

"Did he choose the most crowded time of the year on the lake with power boats all over the place, to suddenly and premeditatedly decide to kill his wife?" defense attorney George Cody asked the jury. "Or did he do all he could as it struck him at the time?"

Storey said one witness, who was watching from shore, will testify she saw the couple just before and after the drowning and is sure the raft did not overturn. Other witnesses are also expected to remark at the casual way Roth rowed to shore and began deflating his raft while paramedics were trying to resuscitate his wife.

The Roths were married Aug. 1, 1990, after a six-week courtship. He soon became the beneficiary of two insurance policies on her totaling $365,000.

His second wife, Janis, died Nov. 27, 1981, when she fell off the west side of Beacon Rock in Skamania County while hiking with Roth. They had been married less than a year. He collected on a $115,000 insurance policy after the death was ruled accidental.

After hearing of Roth's arrest in King County last fall, Skamania County authorities decided to reopen their 10-year-old investigation into the death.

In testimony today, William Wiley, then coordinator of search and rescue in the area of Washougal, Skamania County, said he was surprised to learn that Roth was the victim's husband.

"He was very calm, just standing off to the side," Wiley testified. "He didn't appear to be emotionally upset and didn't press for information. He was quite calm and matter-of-fact."

Under cross-examination, Wiley said Roth could have been in shock.

Prosecutors will also introduce testimony from his third wife, who divorced him after being married only three months. According to Storey, the woman believed Roth tried to sink a raft that carried the couple along the Snoqualmie River in 1985.

Yet another woman may testify that she and Roth were preparing to marry until their relationship took a sudden downturn when she told him she had cancer and was uninsurable.

But Roth's defense team will try to show the absence of physical evidence in the state's case and depict him as a man who shows emotion, such as sorrow and concern, in his own way.

Cody said a Skamania County undersheriff will testify that Roth reacted with relief in 1981 when he heard over a police radio that rescuers who found his wife, Janis, thought they could revive her.

"He did not act like, `darn, now they will revive her and she'll tell them I pushed her off the cliff.' "

He also said Roth rowed quietly and carefully through waders along the beach at Lake Sammamish last year because he didn't want to cause panic that could inhibit CPR efforts.