Related links
MERRIAM, KAN. -
The man being held in connection with the Dr. George Tiller murder investigation was capable of harming someone if pushed, according to his ex-wife who spoke with FOX 4.
Lindsey Roeder was married to Scott Roeder, 51, for 10 years. And, she says she's not surprised by what's happened.
Roeder says federal agents knocked on her door around 2:15 p.m. Sunday. She had just returned from church when agents told her about Scott Roeder's alleged involvement in Tiller's death.
Roeder says she divorced her husband in 1996 because of his strong views against abortion. She says she kept their son away from his dad when he was a minor because she didn't want him to poison the boy's mind.
Lindsey Roeder told FOX 4 on Friday Scott insisted on seeing their son, now 22. He took him to a movie, dinner and to get ice cream. The ex says it's very unusual because Roeder observes his Sabbath at sundown on Friday and always adheres to it.
She says looking back, it may have been Scott's way of having time with his son to say goodbye. Roeder says Scott may be bi-polar and adds he's very obsessive and can not deal with everyday life. She says her ex-husband is probably proud of his arrest.
"He was determined," she said. "If the abortion doctor killed a baby, than he didn't have any right to live either, it was justifiable, I'm sure he feels justified in what he did."
Lindsey Roeder says she doesn't believe in her ex-husband's views and says her family is absolutely mortified. They send their sympathy to Tiller's family.
Scott Roeder had lived at a house in Merriam. But, his ex-wife says he moved to Westport months ago. She described her ex-husband as a man who always thought he was right. She said he was self-righteous and that if he snapped, she did believe he could hurt someone.
The FBI has confirmed the home at 51st and Knox in Merriam is part of the investiagtion into the shooting of Dr. Tiller. Johnson County property records show ties between the home and Scott Roeder.
Police stopped Roeder Sunday afternoon just outside the metro traveling north on I-35 near the Gardner exit. FOX 4 was there and got exclusive video of Roeder in the backseat of a patrol car. Later in the day, Roeder was taken by Wichita Police from the adult detention facility in Gardner.
Wichita Police towed the blue Taurus back to Wichita. Neighbors said they've seen a similar car at the house in Merriam. They describe the ongoings at the house as strange. They said it's a revolving door of men coming and staying there and describe what appear to be religious gatherings.
Roeder's Past:
In one post written in 2007 on the Web site for the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, a man identifying himself as Scott Roeder asked if anyone had thought of attending Tiller's church to ask the doctor and other worshippers about his work. "Doesn't seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller," the post said.
Operation Rescue condemned the killing as vigilantism and "a cowardly act," and the group's president, Troy Newman, said Roeder "has never been a member, contributor or volunteer." He may have posted to the organization's open Internet blog, Newman said, but so have thousands of nonmembers.
But Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, whose protests have often targeted Tiller, called the slain doctor "a mass murderer," adding: "He was an evil man -- his hands were covered with blood."
In 1996, a 38-year-old man named Scott Roeder was charged in Topeka with criminal use of explosives for having bomb components in his car trunk and sentenced to 24 months of probation. However, his conviction was overturned on appeal the next year after a higher court said evidence against Roeder was seized by law enforcement officers during an illegal search of his car.
At the time, police said the FBI had identified Roeder as a member of the anti-government Freemen group, an organization that kept the FBI at bay in Jordan, Mont., for almost three months in 1995-96. Authorities on Sunday night would not immediately confirm if their suspect was the same man.
Morris Wilson, a commander of the Kansas Unorganized Citizens Militia in the mid-1990s, told The Kansas City Star he knew Roeder fairly well.
"I'd say he's a good ol' boy, except he was just so fanatic about abortion," Wilson said. "He was always talking about how awful abortion was. But there's a lot of people who think abortion is awful."
Lindsey Roeder was married to Scott Roeder, 51, for 10 years. And, she says she's not surprised by what's happened.
Roeder says federal agents knocked on her door around 2:15 p.m. Sunday. She had just returned from church when agents told her about Scott Roeder's alleged involvement in Tiller's death.
Roeder says she divorced her husband in 1996 because of his strong views against abortion. She says she kept their son away from his dad when he was a minor because she didn't want him to poison the boy's mind.
Lindsey Roeder told FOX 4 on Friday Scott insisted on seeing their son, now 22. He took him to a movie, dinner and to get ice cream. The ex says it's very unusual because Roeder observes his Sabbath at sundown on Friday and always adheres to it.
She says looking back, it may have been Scott's way of having time with his son to say goodbye. Roeder says Scott may be bi-polar and adds he's very obsessive and can not deal with everyday life. She says her ex-husband is probably proud of his arrest.
"He was determined," she said. "If the abortion doctor killed a baby, than he didn't have any right to live either, it was justifiable, I'm sure he feels justified in what he did."
Lindsey Roeder says she doesn't believe in her ex-husband's views and says her family is absolutely mortified. They send their sympathy to Tiller's family.
Scott Roeder had lived at a house in Merriam. But, his ex-wife says he moved to Westport months ago. She described her ex-husband as a man who always thought he was right. She said he was self-righteous and that if he snapped, she did believe he could hurt someone.
The FBI has confirmed the home at 51st and Knox in Merriam is part of the investiagtion into the shooting of Dr. Tiller. Johnson County property records show ties between the home and Scott Roeder.
Police stopped Roeder Sunday afternoon just outside the metro traveling north on I-35 near the Gardner exit. FOX 4 was there and got exclusive video of Roeder in the backseat of a patrol car. Later in the day, Roeder was taken by Wichita Police from the adult detention facility in Gardner.
Wichita Police towed the blue Taurus back to Wichita. Neighbors said they've seen a similar car at the house in Merriam. They describe the ongoings at the house as strange. They said it's a revolving door of men coming and staying there and describe what appear to be religious gatherings.
Roeder's Past:
In one post written in 2007 on the Web site for the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, a man identifying himself as Scott Roeder asked if anyone had thought of attending Tiller's church to ask the doctor and other worshippers about his work. "Doesn't seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller," the post said.
Operation Rescue condemned the killing as vigilantism and "a cowardly act," and the group's president, Troy Newman, said Roeder "has never been a member, contributor or volunteer." He may have posted to the organization's open Internet blog, Newman said, but so have thousands of nonmembers.
But Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, whose protests have often targeted Tiller, called the slain doctor "a mass murderer," adding: "He was an evil man -- his hands were covered with blood."
In 1996, a 38-year-old man named Scott Roeder was charged in Topeka with criminal use of explosives for having bomb components in his car trunk and sentenced to 24 months of probation. However, his conviction was overturned on appeal the next year after a higher court said evidence against Roeder was seized by law enforcement officers during an illegal search of his car.
At the time, police said the FBI had identified Roeder as a member of the anti-government Freemen group, an organization that kept the FBI at bay in Jordan, Mont., for almost three months in 1995-96. Authorities on Sunday night would not immediately confirm if their suspect was the same man.
Morris Wilson, a commander of the Kansas Unorganized Citizens Militia in the mid-1990s, told The Kansas City Star he knew Roeder fairly well.
"I'd say he's a good ol' boy, except he was just so fanatic about abortion," Wilson said. "He was always talking about how awful abortion was. But there's a lot of people who think abortion is awful."
