Lab lacked warrant for sweatshirt, lawyer says
Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Attorneys for a man charged with capital murder in the slaying of his exgirlfriend want a blood-stained sweatshirt excluded from evidence.
The black, hooded sweatshirt shouldn’t be allowed as evidence because police did not obtain a warrant to send it to the state Crime Laboratory, attorney Steve Vowell, argued Thursday.
The sweatshirt was seized from Zachariah Marcyniuk, 29, in the March 9 slaying of Katharine “Katie” Wood. Wood, 24, was a senior at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where she was majoring in English.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Don Kerr seized the sweatshirt after arresting Marcyniuk in Beckham County, near Oklahoma’s western border with Texas.
Vowell argued that sending the sweatshirt to the Crime Lab without a warrant violated Marcyniuk’s right to privacy.
A presumptive test of the stains was positive for blood, said Jason French, a Fayetteville police detective.
French testified to the chain of evidence and briefly about the crime scene he investigated at Colonial Arms Apartments. He said there was a large amount of blood in several areas of the apartment and a purse and shoe outside the front door.
Marcyniuk’s lead attorney, W. H. Taylor of Fayetteville, also argued against allowing a jury to hear statements his client made to Kerr and French. The court was shown a video of the traffic stop that led to Marcyniuk’s arrest.
Kerr said he stopped Marcyniuk for speeding on Interstate 40. The trooper said he had planned on letting Marcyniuk go with a warning but arrested him after learning of the murder warrant from a dispatcher.
Much of the audio portion of the tape was garbled, though Kerr can be heard asking Marcyniuk about a scratch on his face. Kerr said he was told it was from a dog but that he doubted the validity of that statement.
According to an arrest affidavit, Marcyniuk left his dog with his parents before leaving Fayetteville. Marcyniuk told his parents, “I think I hurt her real bad,” court records show.
Marcyniuk told police he did not remember anything and did not know why the warrant was issued.
In court, Marcyniuk wore an orange Washington County jail jumpsuit, and his hands and legs were shackled. The clothes and restraints were the subject of another complaint by Taylor.
Taylor sought a continuance based on his client’s clothing and restraints. He also argued to excuse the prospective jurors, because Marcyniuk’s appearance in news reports may bias them.
Circuit Judge William Storey denied the request to postpone the case but made no decision on the other motions.
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