Evidence disputed at pretrial for Marion Jr.
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At the pretrial for David Marion Jr. in Lansing’s 30th Circuit today, possible police evidence against Marion was argued to be invalid by his lawyer.
Marion is on trial for allegedly murdering Owen Goodenow, 23, and then-MSU student Darren Brown, 18, in March 2010 in the process of stealing a safe containing about a pound of marijuana and $1,250 in cash. Marion’s alleged co-conspirator Benjamin French was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Jan. 25 after being found guilty of the same charges.
During the pretrial, Marion’s attorney Stacia Buchanan questioned the evidence presented by Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Crino.
Buchanan argued Marion should have been read his Miranda rights prior to his initial interview.
Michigan State Police first contacted Marion for questioning after going through Goodenow’s phone records in September 2010. They saw Marion had called Goodenow several times between 2 and 2:30 p.m. on the day of the murders — close to the time the murders occurred.
Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Michael Foley set up the initial interview with Marion, who was staying at his mother’s house in Dolton, Ill.
Police escorted him to an FBI office about 20 minutes away in Orland Park, Ill.
When Foley and Detective Sgt. Frank Mraz first questioned Marion on Sept. 14, 2010, Foley said Marion was not yet a suspect in the killings of Brown and Goodenow.
But after the questioning began, Foley said it was apparent Marion was lying about details involving his relationship with the victims.
“We came in contact with a lot of people who smoked and sold marijuana,” Foley said of many of the other witnesses interviewed about the deaths. “We saw this in David Marion Jr. not wanting to say he smoked marijuana or sold it on a regular basis.”
At first, Foley reassured Marion he would be leaving the office after the interview in hopes of making him feel more at ease about any connections Marion might have to the victims, the officer said.
Buchanan argued the police changed their tone as the interview progressed, and Marion should have been read his Miranda rights because some of the questions were those a police officer might ask a suspect.
During the interview, Foley and Mraz changed their tone because it was clear to them Marion was an eyewitness to the deaths of Goodenow and Brown, Foley said.
In the transcript, police were quoted saying, “I’m thinking right now maybe I’m looking at the killer,” and, “We know you couldn’t do something like this. You’re just a follower, not a leader.”
Any use of aggressive language or tone changes were questioning techniques to make Marion feel more comfortable telling the truth about the the deaths and Marion’s relationship with Brown and Goodenow, Foley said.
If the court rules that at some point the interview switched from being a voluntary statement to a custodial interrogation, the full transcript of the interview might not be allowed as evidence.
Buchanan said this is the only piece of evidence she plans to dispute during the pretrial.
Court will meet again on Friday at 2:30 p.m., when Mraz will testify about the interview.
Marion’s trial is set for March 5.
