When a jury assembles in a Seattle courtroom this week to hear details of Teresa Butz's slaying and the brutal attack on her partner nearly two years ago, one crucial element will be missing: the defendant.
In an extremely rare move, the trial judge has barred Isaiah Kalebu from sitting in the courtroom during his murder trial after months of curse-laced tirades and threats of violence. Instead, Kalebu will watch the proceedings over a television feed from a nearby courtroom.
King County Superior Court Judge Michael Hayden, himself the target of Kalebu's abuse during pretrial hearings, plans to reconsider his decision during the trial and could allow Kalebu to sit at the defense table if he promises to behave. However, the 25-year-old defendant has given no indication that he wants to be present, declaring at one point, "I'm not sitting through this trial, period."
Kalebu is charged with aggravated murder, first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree burglary in connection with the July 19, 2009, attack of the two women in their South Park home. Kalebu is accused of crawling into an open window and brutally raping and assaulting the women with a knife before they managed to flee. Butz died from her wounds.
Prosecutors recently filed the first-degree-murder charge to give jurors a possible alternative in the event they don't find Kalebu guilty of aggravated murder, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty against Kalebu because of his history of mental illness. If convicted of the aggravated-murder charge, he faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
Since his arrest, Kalebu has been evaluated twice at Western State Hospital. Each time he was found to be mentally competent and returned to the King County Jail to await his prosecution.
The defense last week made a last-ditch attempt to renew its motion for Kalebu to be ruled mentally incompetent and sent back to Western State Hospital. While Hayden agrees that Kalebu is mentally ill, he said he believes Kalebu is competent to stand trial — news the defendant reacted to with anger and cursing.
"What's the problem with me going to the hospital?" Kalebu said in court recently. "You just want to put me on TV and make me into this monster."
Though his first lawyer said Kalebu was calm and mentally sound during his initial court appearance, his mental state has diminished in the nearly two years since his arrest, according to his current defense lawyer Ramona Brandes.
Kalebu regularly refuses to come to court. Hayden often orders jail staff to drag him from his cell, which entails forcing him into a green smock often used for suicidal inmates, shackling him and strapping him to a restraint chair.
Brandes said in court last week that her client is haunted by "conspiratorial delusions" and "feels like he's constantly being watched."
Michael Schwartz, another of Kalebu's lawyers, said that he will present a diminished-capacity defense to the jury. He plans to argue Kalebu's mental functions were "impaired to such an extent that he cannot be found to be legally responsible for the crime."
The defense has never denied that Kalebu committed the crimes.
Seattle police Detective Dana Duffy, one of two detectives who led the investigation, said the trial means the end of talk about Kalebu's mental-health issues and a renewed focus on the victims. Duffy has remained close with the surviving victim and stays in touch with Butz's family.
"The reason that we're here is for the victims and remembering them," she said on Thursday."We need to keep our minds on them and bring the focus back to them."
The 38-year-old surviving victim has not attended a court hearing. Duffy said that she's staying away in an attempt to heal.
She will testify about the night she was raped and tortured during the six-week trial. It will mark the first time she will publicly share what she and Butz endured during the attack. Butz's family also plans to attend the trial, Duffy said.
Initially, some 3,000 people were sent jury summons for the high-profile case. That number has been whittled down to more than 100 prospective jurors, who will be in court on Tuesday for additional questioning from the state and the defense. Schwartz, the defense attorney, said he believes that number will quickly be trimmed and opening statements could be given as early as Thursday..Dipetik dari http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
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