Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Extension is denied for murder trial

Judge and attorneys visit Johnson home

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Pending more specific evidence, 5th District Judge Barry Wood denied a motion Thursday to postpone the trial date for alleged teenage murderer Sarah M. Johnson, who is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 27.

Sarah M. Johnson

"I see some things in the case that bother me greatly," Wood said. "From what I know, the defense looks like factual innocence. If that is the case, this case really needs to get along, because we’ve got an innocent person sitting behind bars.

"I’m worried about the rights, very much so, of the defendant."

Johnson, 17, is accused of murdering her parents on Sept. 2, 2003, in their Bellevue home. She was 16 at the time. Since her Oct. 29 arrest, she has been incarcerated at the Blaine County Jail in lieu of a $2 million bond. Johnson has not been schooled during her time in jail, said Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling.

Defense and prosecuting attorneys in the case met in court Thursday to discuss the merits of the proposed trial extension, requested by defense attorney Bob Pangburn, who was appointed as Johnson’s public defender. Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas agreed that an extension is warranted.

Wood, however, was clear. Though the attorneys said the trial should be held in January 2005, Wood said he would not let it drag on that long. If an extension is to be granted, the trial will be scheduled for Nov. 29, Wood said.

"Sooner or later, you’ve got to draw a line and say, that’s it," Wood said. "You’ve got to go to trial."

The Thursday afternoon hearing was one of the longest open hearings in the case so far. Some, though not many, new details surfaced.

To help make the case for a trial extension, Pangburn asked Oregon-based criminologist Mike Howard to take the stand. The defense hired Howard, along with a separate blood splatter and firearms expert, to help build their case.

"I would say, forensically, this is a very complicated case," Howard said, adding that the crime scene included gunshot residue, blood splatter, hairs, fibers and DNA evidence.

He reiterated at least three times that it is "a complicated scene."

"Some evidence needs extensive scientific analysis, and a DNA sample can take nine weeks," he said. "There’s a lot of evidence there to look at and analyze, and, yes, it will take a while to get this evidence analyzed."

At the core of the requested extension is the legal process by which attorneys examine evidence and prepare for a trial. Prosecuting attorneys must share evidence with defense attorneys. Defense attorneys, in turn, must share any new evidence with prosecuting attorneys.

Pangburn said he has 9,000 pages of records to review. He has received a list of 407 potential witnesses, and, only recently, he reviewed hundreds of pieces of evidence. More evidence reviews were scheduled this week. What’s more, Pangburn said most of the records were not categorized, slowing the process.

"A lot of this stuff was, literally, a shoebox full of information," he said. "We’ve been going through this evidence with a fine-tooth comb."

But Wood pointed out the defense team, including investigators, two court-appointed attorneys and crime scene experts, have amassed more than 2,000 hours.

"I’m not being critical. I’m just saying there’s a whole lot of time being spent on this," Wood said. "It seems like a lot of time is being squandered away, if you will …

"I’ve seen quite a few cases, and this does not seem more complicated than many I’ve seen."

Wood said the crime appears to have happened in a confined space and occurred in a short time frame. The police arrived at the scene shortly after the crime.

"You’re going to have to educate me," he said. "I don’t have a stake in this thing, but we need to get it done."

Wood disclosed another small detail during the hearing. In talking about the defense’s examination of evidence as a whole, he pointed out that defense attorneys have specifically asked to examine a robe that may have been the one found by police officers following the crime, as well as clothes owned by Bruno Santos, Johnson’s fiancé at the time.

According to interviews with investigators prior to a gag order on the case, a bathrobe was discovered in a curbside trashcan, along with cloth and latex gloves. At least one of the gloves contained Johnson’s DNA, Femling said. The bathrobe was covered with her mother, Diane Johnson’s, blood, he said.

During an Oct. 30 press conference, authorities said they believe the then-16-year-old acted out of revenge when her parents forbid her from seeing her fiancé, then-19-year-old Santos.

Santos was deported to Mexico Sept. 12, but, as a result of the murder investigation, he was brought back to Blaine County to testify as a witness in the case, Femling said.

Femling said at the press conference that Santos is not considered a suspect or conspirator in the murders but was one of five "people of interest" previously under investigation.

Mention of Santos’ clothes was the first disclosure that they were part of the pool of evidence.

Finally, following the Thursday court proceeding, defense and prosecuting attorneys accompanied Wood to the Johnson home at 1193 Glen Aspen Drive in Bellevue. Thomas said the visit was to orient the judge to the scene prior to an expected visit by jurors during the trial.

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