( CNN ) -- The trial of a man who confessed to killing a Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions began Friday , with the prosecution telling jurors they will hear from witnesses to the shooting . Jurors also learned they will hear the 911 calls made moments later . Roeder 's murder trial began in Wichita , Kansas , on the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade , the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion . Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston told jurors that among the trial evidence are blood-shattered shoes , shell casings and a calendar belonging to the defendant that had the day of the shooting circled . `` All those things combined will be the state 's case to show this jury without reasonable doubt that this defendant , Scott Roeder , should be convicted of all charges , '' Foulston said . Throughout the opening argument , Roeder listened without emotion . Roeder , 51 , has said he justifiably killed Tiller while trying to save unborn children . The doctor was shot in the foyer of his church in Wichita on May 31 . `` Dr. George Tiller was pronounced dead at the scene of the Reformation Lutheran Church , '' Foulston said . `` Dr. Tiller died from a single contact gunshot wound to the head . '' She said the gun was never recovered , . Roeder 's defense did not present an opening statement Friday morning . Foulston walked the jury through the crime , saying that Tiller was to be an usher for a Pentecost Sunday service . `` Unexpectedly , a sound was heard , described by many as like a popping of a balloon , '' the prosecutor said . Drawing on what she said was a witness 's account , she said , `` A man [ was ] standing next to George Tiller , with his arms still raised . ... . Dr. Tiller fell to the floor . '' After the opening argument , the jury heard the 911 call made shortly after the shooting . `` Dr. Tiller , Dr. George Tiller , was just shot ! '' a woman told a 911 operator . With Roeder 's beliefs expected to be the focal point of his defense , the trial could become the next forum in the fierce national debate over abortion rights . In several media interviews after his arrest , Roeder expressed no remorse over shooting Tiller , saying it prevented the doctor from carrying out abortions at the Women 's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita . Prosecutors have called the defense argument flawed . `` Case law is clear , both in Kansas and nationwide , that the circumstances of this murder do not justify an imperfect self-defense instruction , '' they wrote in court papers . `` The state urges this court to exclude any irrelevant evidence of abortion , the defendant 's views on abortion and the character of Dr. Tiller , '' they said . Tiller was among the most enduring targets of the anti-abortion movement , withstanding several legal challenges and many death threats , including one in 1993 in which he was shot in both arms . His killing sent shock waves through both factions in the abortion debate , with most from the anti-abortion movement condemning Roeder 's actions . Roeder faces life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree murder . He also is charged with two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two other ushers as he fled the church . CNN 's Emanuella Grinberg and Lena Jakobsson contributed to this report .
Dr. George Tiller was shot , killed while serving as an usher at Wichita church in May . Scott Roeder says he justifiably killed Tiller in effort to save unborn children . Comment: