Jury pool reduced to 12 in trial of accused husband killer

A second juror was excused Friday from the trial of a 45-year-old Johnson Lane woman accused of murdering her husband and dumping his body in the desert.

District Judge Dave Gamble released the woman after he closed the courtroom and questioned the juror at her request only in the presence of defense and prosecution attorneys and court staff.

On Wednesday, Gamble dismissed a juror due to a family emergency, which leaves him without alternates.

"This is the first time for me in 21 years that I lost both alternates," Gamble told the panel of 10 women and two men. "Stay healthy."

The trial of Karen Bodden, which opened Monday, is expected to last up to three weeks.

She is charged with open murder with use of a deadly weapon in the death of Robin Bodden, 50, an airplane mechanic at Minden-Tahoe Airport.

Authorities believe Robin Bodden was killed Aug. 15 or 16, 2006. His body was discovered in the desert off Johnson Lane on Sept. 10, 2006.

Daniel Linn, who found the body, testified Friday he was hiking in the area and following a jackrabbit when "I came across the smell of something that had died."

Linn said he followed the scent and saw a shape under a tree "that looked liked a small cow."

He said he got close enough to realize it was the source of the smell.

He said the object was covered, but he could make out body parts and returned to his vehicle immediately to call 911.

"I was convinced that was a knee and an elbow. Something was in there dead. I didn't want to be the person who uncovered it," Linn said.

Linn said he waited for Douglas County sheriff's deputies and led them to the site.