Abner decides not to testify in Viola case

BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle
Jaime Oppenheimer/The Wichita Eagle

WICHITA - Robert Abner told a judge late this afternoon that he has opted not to testify in his own defense to charges of robbery, kidnapping, rape and sodomy.
.
The brief exchange between Abner and Judge David Kaufman came after testimony ended in Abner's trial, which began Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court.
.
The 40-year-old is accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a Viola convenience store clerk last June. Abner is accused of holding her at his north Wichita rental home for four days before dropping her off outside her family's minister's home.
.
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for Monday morning. Then the jury will begin deliberations.
.
Earlier today, Abner's sister testified that last summer he told her he had robbed a convenience store and was going to turn himself in to authorities after going to Oregon to "clear his head."
Abner was later arrested in Oregon.
.
Also Friday, through their questioning, attorneys on both sides again sparred over whether the store clerk, Joyce Patterson, was forced to have sex.