Defense seeks diary in July shooting case

The diary entry indicated that a distraught ex-wife wanted to kill her former spouse because she believed he was "demonic-filled."

Now the defense is trying to obtain that diary from Hamilton County investigators in the case against Tina Marie Loher, who is accused of shooting her ex-husband in July in his chiropractic office on Signal Mountain while their two daughters waited in the car.

"We're still working out the exchange of discovery," defense attorney Myrlene Marsa said.

She said she still has not read the entire contents of the diary that could be a critical piece of evidence.

Ms. Loher made a brief appearance Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court and is scheduled to be back in court on Dec. 15. She is charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of reckless endangerment with regard to her children.

She is being held on $600,000 bond. A general sessions judge in July raised her bond from the initial amount set out of "concern" for her mental state after hearing excerpts from her diary.

The diary first surfaced at that preliminary court hearing, filled with writings by Ms. Loher describing why her ex-husband, Dr. Terrance "Terry" Loher, needed to die. The two had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle at the time, with Ms. Loher allegedly refusing to let Dr. Loher see his daughters.

"I know what I have to do now," Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Detective Rodger Brown read from the diary as Dr. Loher sat in a wheelchair, recovering from a single gunshot wound to the leg. "Terry is filled with three demonic spirits. One is assigned to me, one to each of my children. ... I will have to create three portals of exit, that way the (demonic spirits) can leave ... (and he will) stop making my life a living hell every chance he gets."

At the hearing, Dr. Loher pleaded with Judge Ronald Durby not to allow his bail for his ex-wife.

"If she makes bond and gets out, she's going to finish the job," Dr. Loher said calmly.

According to police reports and court testimony, Ms. Loher, 41, walked into Dr. Loher's chiropractic office on July 11, pulled out a gun and shot him in the leg.

Dr. Loher said he wrestled her to the ground to prevent her from shooting again, kicking her once in the head with his "good leg" when she tried to escape.