Assisted suicide or murder? The bizarre case of Jeffrey Locker

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 21 February 2011

Nobody disputes that Kenneth Minor held the knife that ripped into the chest of Jeffrey Locker in July 2009 as Locker, a motivational speaker, sat in his car with his hands tied behind his back.

Locker, 52, who appeared to have a good life - a loving wife, three children, a nice home in a comfortable suburb - died that night, slumped behind the wheel of his shiny black Dodge in what was thought to be a vicious murder and robbery.

But jurors hearing the case that opened last week in New York must decide whether Minor was a coldblooded killer or a mere tool in an extraordinary plan by Locker to arrange his own murder - a claim that sounds outlandish, except that prosecutors have conceded much of it is true.