The co-defendants are both charged with AA felonies for their role in the February 2022 death of Wade Goodale, 42. Anderson is charged with murder of an adult victim and Goodale as an accomplice. The early proceedings brought in the first round of state witnesses, including a Minot woman who said she was in the vehicle with Wade Goodale during the assault and shooting that resulted in his death.

Opening Statements

“The story you’re going to hear is about a person who wanted out of their marriage,” State’s Attorney Roza Larson told the jurors. “Now instead of just moving out, moving on and getting divorced, she wanted to end with an exclamation point. She wanted her husband killed.”

Anderson’s attorney William Hartl also alluded to the Goodale’s marriage as “contentious or rocky” and that his client was aware of some of their issues. Though he conceded that Anderson, being a father of five himself, wasn’t opposed to “sending a message” to Wade Goodale, Hartl said his client had left the scene thinking that Goodale was alive.

Regina Goodale stands next to her attorney Steven Mottinger during his opening statement to the jury on Tuesday.

“He wasn’t opposed to roughing him up or having a physical chat with Wade Goodale. He didn’t care for his parenting style. But, Wade Goodale was alive,” Hartl said.

Attorney Steven Mottinger had his client stand before the jury during his opening statement, emphasizing for them that she is presumed innocent.

“Jury studies tell us that in many instances, 80 percent of all jurors end up making up their minds during these opening statements. I want to caution you in regard to that. You’re going to listen to all of the evidence before you start putting the pieces together,” Mottinger said. “If you fall into that trap and you’ve already made up your mind, we might as well pick up our stuff and go home right now.”

Witnesses

Minot Police Officer Alexander Harrington testified that he responded to a report in southeast Minot of a woman knocking on doors, saying her friend had been shot. Upon arriving on the scene, Harrington found an unconscious male slumped on the steering wheel of a vehicle parked outside of a home in a Minot mobile home park. After observing a head wound on the back of the man’s head and blood splattered around the vehicle, Harrington said the man was removed from the car so lifesaving measures could be performed as they waited on an ambulance.

Carletta Nelson raises her right hand as she was sworn to testify in room 302 at the Ward County Courthouse to what she witnessed on the night that Wade Goodale died.

Critical testimony was given by Carletta Nelson of Minot, who was in the vehicle with Wade Goodale during the assault. Nelson said that Goodale was her friend and had offered to take her to his home that night to run a few loads of laundry. Goodale picked Nelson up after spending some time that evening at a Minot bar, and they were making a detour to meet up with Whitney Racine. Nelson said that Goodale gave her his phone to text Racine that they were getting close.

Shortly after they arrived, the lights of another vehicle appeared behind them, which she said caused Goodale to tense up, lock the car’s doors and reach for his cell phone. According to Nelson, a man then started yelling for Goodale to get out of the car, but the interior of the vehicle’s windows was frosted over, making it difficult to see. The man outside the car then punched in the driver’s side window before repeatedly striking Goodale in the head and face.

“He repeatedly just kept saying that Regina had wanted him dead, and that he was lucky he was going to let him live,” Nelson said. “I was told to stay out of it or we both would be shot.”

Nelson said the man continued to strike Goodale before reaching into the car, shooting him and leaving the scene in the vehicle they came in. Despite everything happening right in front of her, Nelson said she was only able to see that the assailant had red hair and facial hair. Nelson attempted to get help from passersby by knocking on doors and was able to eventually get someone to call the police and get a ride back home. When pressed by the defense, Nelson testified that she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs that night.

Additional testimony was provided by two individuals regarding comments allegedly made by Regina Goodale during a trip to Las Vegas and Los Angeles in November 2021. Angela Cook of Minot employed Goodale at her cleaning company at the time and went on the trip with Goodale, her friend Camelia Brown and a third individual who was not asked to testify. Cook and Brown both testified they heard Goodale say she wanted someone to “beat up” her husband.

Cook testified that she knew the Goodales had a history of arguments and infidelity and that Regina Goodale told her she was going to ask her boyfriend “Cyrus” to do it. Cook told the court that she knew “Cyrus” through an ex-boyfriend and that his real name was Mathew Anderson.

The state’s final action before the proceedings broke for the lunch was the introduction of Snapchat data for Regina Goodale and Racine. The certified records provided by Snapchat were filed with the court, along with a specific chat thread between Regina Goodale and her son. The specific contents of the exchange were redacted before being filed with the court.

Anderson’s and Goodale’s trial is scheduled to run until June 30.