Chorkey testifies in Fiegehen trial

MINDEN -- A shooting victim described to jurors the events of the night she was shot twice at close range and her husband murdered.

Lorelle Chorkey, testifying Friday for the prosecution in the murder trial of Christopher Fiegehen, identified Fiegehen as the person who attacked her in the early hours of Feb. 10, 2002.

In cross examination by Defense Attorney Richard Young, she explained she did not identify an attacker to the 911 operator that night because she "was terrified."

Fiegehen, 24, of Carson City, is accused of killing Alan Chorkey, and the attempted murder of Lorelle Chorkey.

He is also charged with burglary and home invasion of the Chorkeys' home on Becky Avenue in the Johnson Lane area.

Chorkey, who lost half of her vision due to a shot through the head, appeared strong, but saddened, as she testified in District Judge David Gamble's courtroom.

She told jurors that she has lost the peripheral vision in her left eye and has depth perception problems. She walks with the assistance of a cane.

During questioning by Douglas County Deputy District Attorney Mark Jackson about the events of Feb. 9 and 10, 2002, she spoke of "Al" dozing off to sleep in front of the television in the home about 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

She recalled being awakened from her sleep by the sound of the storm door downstairs in the split level home opening.

She said she did not look at a clock.

She then heard a dog bark, "maybe once or twice," and then heard something, "like a jump onto the deck," a noise she described as being like the weight of a body.

She said she got out of bed to see what it was and walked into the master bathroom.

"I heard my name being called," she said. "I heard 'Lorelle' and turned and got shot through the chest."

She said she heard the sound of that gunshot and saw three flashes shortly thereafter, sounds she described by clapping her hands, with pauses, in court.

"And then Chris Fiegehen appeared to me wearing a dark ball cap," she said.

According to other witnesses who have testified in the prosecution's behalf since late Wednesday, Fiegehen owned a blue baseball cap with a Volcom logo. The cap, according to Dockstader who testified Thursday, was a gift from her to Fiegehen.

Alane lived with her mother, Lorelle and stepfather, Alan, on Becky Lane.

Lorelle Chorkey said Fiegehen stood about a foot and a 1/2 away from her after the shot.

"Then I said, 'What are you doing?' And I looked down and saw he had a gun in his hand."

She said she "reversed" into the kitchen and felt Al brushing past her. She picked up the phone and called 911.

The 911 operator asked her who was there in the house.

"I said I didn't know," she said. "I wasn't willing to say his name while he was still in the house ... He was still shooting in the next room."

She said the phone then went dead and she awoke to the sound of footsteps, which belonged to Douglas County Sheriff's Office deputies dispatched to the scene shortly after 5 a.m.

Defense Attorney Richard Young questioned Chorkey about her statements to the 911 operator.

Chorkey said that when the operator asked who had done this, Chorkey responded, "I don't know."

"I chose not to tell her. I was terrified," she said.

She agreed with Young's statement that she had told the 911 operator it was dark and she could not see.

Fiegehen dated Alane Dockstader, daughter and stepdaughter of Lorelle and Alan, for more than a year and a 1/2, until a break-up a month or so before the Feb. 10 incident.