Death sentence to be sought in shooting.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against a man accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife after breaking into her Eugene home and binding her hands with duct tape.

Tyke Thomas Supanchick, 28, of Junction City has been in the Lane County Jail since the shooting on Dec. 23, 2005.

He is charged with aggravated murder, felony burglary and attempted coercion in the death of his wife, 25-year-old Kelly Jackson Supanchick. The couple had a daughter, now 3. She lives with Kelly Supanchick's mother.

Attempts to negotiate a plea deal have failed, according to court records.

The Lane County District Attorney's Office has said it intends to seek the death penalty against the former Navy medic and volunteer firefighter when his trial begins April 24 in Lane County Circuit Court.

Death penalty cases are relatively rare in Lane County. Five of the 32 prisoners on Oregon's death row were convicted in Lane County. The most recent local addition was Travis Lee Gibson, 30, who was convicted in 2001 of killing a man during a robbery at a Eugene duplex. The state has not executed a prisoner since May 16, 1997.

Supanchick is accused of shooting his wife three times with a shotgun as Eugene police officers tried to kick open the front door of her rented duplex on Morningside Drive.

He had returned from a tour of duty in Kuwait and Dubai two months before the shooting. Since his return, his wife had obtained a restraining order against him after he allegedly threatened to slit her throat. A week later, Tyke Supanchick filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for full custody of their daughter.

Supanchick told police that he had gone to the house to offer his wife $1,000 to leave him and their daughter alone, according to charging papers. He told police that he broke in, bound her hands with tape and talked to her for about four hours before officers arrived after receiving a phone call from Supanchick's father, who was concerned for his daughter-in-law's safety.

The officers peered through a window and saw Kelly Supanchick, who told them she needed help. As police tried to force down the door, Supanchick allegedly employed a "failure drill" on his wife, a military tactic of firing two rounds into the body of an enemy, followed by one round to the head, according to court documents.

Supanchick walked out of the house with his hands in the air and surrendered to police. Officers found his wife inside. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A judge last fall denied a motion filed by Supanchick's attorney, John Kolego, who argued that Oregon's death penalty statute is unconstitutional.

The trial, originally scheduled for January, was delayed so Supanchick can undergo a mental evaluation and to allow the defense time to locate witnesses serving in Iraq, court papers show.

If the jury convicts Supanchick of aggravated murder, it must vote unanimously in favor of a death sentence before one can be imposed.

The jury also must answer four questions to reach a death sentence, including whether the defendant poses a continuing threat while imprisoned. If the jury rejects the death sentence, it may impose life in prison without possibility of parole or life in prison with possible parole after 30 years.