The crime, in which two women met a man at a bar and then shot him, reminded police of the movie Thelma and Louise.
But which one is Louise — the shooter — is the focus of a trial that began on Wednesday before Broward Circuit Judge Howard M. Zeidwig.
Prosecutor John Countryman says Bernadette Eadey shot and wounded a Boca Raton man, John Coussa, 41, who met the Deerfield Beach women at the Wildflower nightclub in Boca Raton on May 22, 1991.
Eadey, 27, who has an eight-foot-long rap sheet dating to 1983, is on trial for attempted murder and armed robbery. Linda Goodmote, 31, as part of a plea bargain, will be the chief witness against Eadey.
Countryman said witnesses will testify that Eadey did the shooting after Eadey and Goodmote lured Coussa to a hotel room in Deerfield Beach, robbed him of cash and his Rolex, then shot him in the head.
However, Eadey’s attorney, Dennis Bailey, said Coussa has already identified Goodmote as the one who shot him.
“He (Coussa) is very clear about who shot him,” Bailey said in his opening statement on Wednesday.
One witness against Eadey is Goodmote’s boyfriend, Rick Mortati of Deerfield Beach. Bailey said Mortati is testifying against Eadey because he is jealous.
Goodmote and Eadey began a sexual relationship after Goodmote moved in with Mortati, Bailey said. Mortati knew this, but still loves Goodmote, Bailey said.
“She is sharing her bed under his roof with Bernadette Eadey, and he’s still in love with her,” Bailey said. “He never liked Bernadette, because Bernadette is the one sharing Linda’s bed, not him, under his roof.”
Countryman said Eadey and Goodmote went to the Wildflower that night looking for a man to rob. Goodmote, who worked as a stripper, was wearing a tight- fitting black skirt with a bustier top.
“Linda was clearly the bait,” Countryman said. “Mr. Coussa took it. And Mr. Coussa ends up with his head blown away.”
Coussa survived, but the shooting left him brain-damaged and a “physical wreck,” Countryman said.
Coussa weighed nearly 300 pounds at the time of the shooting, but now weighs about 200. Countryman said Coussa can no longer read or write and often mixes up words, calling his wife his husband, for example.
Eadey has been arrested 11 times, on charges ranging from burglary and aggravated assault to grand larceny and drug charges. She has served about three years in prison.
In March last year, Eadey came before Broward Circuit Judge Richard Eade on a burglary charge. Prosecutors urged the toughest sentence allowed by law, but Eade let her go free, giving her two years of house arrest and five years of probation.
Within three months, Eadey was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Police said she and Goodmote burglarized a Plantation home and fired several shots at two brothers who arrived home and surprised them on May 19 last year. Four days later, the two women found Coussa in Boca Raton, police said.
Eadey was convicted on the Plantation charges in August. Goodmote, in a plea bargain, agreed to testify against Eadey in exchange for reduced charges. Countryman said she pleaded guilty to assault and armed robbery charges in exchange for a sentence of five years in prison.
