A neighbor of Markus Kaarma claims that she had a road rage altercation with the man who is currently headed to trial for the shooting death of foreign exchange student Diren Dede, and that the incident happened just hours before the shooting occurred.

"It was about 4:30 p.m. and I was driving home on Prospect , and he [Kaarma] was driving in front of me going about ten miles an hour," said the neighbor who would like to remain anonymous. " I tried to pull out slightly so he could see me in his side mirror and he slowed even further--to about 2 miles per hour. When I tried to go around him, he suddenly turned his vehicle into me cutting me off and forcing me to the curb. He got out of his car, and started yelling at me."

The neighbor claims that in her brief altercation with Kaarma that he "dropped at least three F-bombs" and was angry that she was driving too fast in the neighborhood.

"I don't think he realized just how slow he was going," said the neighbor in an interview. "When he yelled 'don't you know the speed limit in this neighborhood,' I told him, 'yes, the speed limit is 25...I live in this neighborhood,' and he yelled back 'that's the MAXIMUM speed.'"

The neighbor says the situation escalated to the point where she was fearful Kaarma might throw a punch through the window--so she closed the window and began backing away. She said Kaarma was foaming at the mouth and seemed compromised. She also noted that he was wearing a white v-neck undershirt and pajama pants even though it was late in the day.

"I used to work in an ER, I registered drunks and drug addicts everyday and, if you ask me, I'd say that it's obvious that he was either off his medications or high on something," Kaarma's neighbor said.

The night of the incident, before most of the details had leaked out about the shooting, Kaarma's neighbor claims that she placed a call to 911, informing them of the altercation and offering a description of Kaarma. She said she placed the call after seeing the flood of emergency response vehicles on the street below her and in the general vicinity of the Kaarma residence.

"I just knew he had to be involved," the neighbor said. "He was just so irrational earlier that day. I had to tell someone on the record. I think it points to his mental state of being on that day."

The neighbor said she has not yet been asked to testify in the trial, but that members from Kaarma's defense team have questioned her about the case.

 

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