Boss-Killer Trial Begins

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 7, 2009 9:20PM

The trial of Tom Tuduj (pictured left), accused of stabbing his boss to death after a bad performance review, got underway this week. Gary Poter (pictured right) of Poter Construction & Development Co. was killed in May 2006 after giving Tuduj the poor review and docking him $10,000 pay.

While prosecutors allege the stabbing "was motivated by pure rage and disgruntlement," Tuduj's defense attorneys are arguing that he wasn't of his right mind at the time of the crime, suffering from depression, sleep deprivation, and "a toxic combination of medication." One witness, Tamela Augusta, Tuduj's former assistant, said Tuduj appeared sane yet aggravated after the review: "He was angry and swearing. He said, 'I can't believe Gary [Poter] cut my f- - - - - - pay. How am I supposed to pay my f- - - - - - mortgage?' " Poter had worked with politically-connected developers such as Allison S. Davis and Tony Rezko, but that fact has little - if any - bearing on the trial.

Image by CBS 2 and via S-T