HONOLULU (KHON2) — The attorney for accused murderer Stephen Brown asked the judge to declare a mistrial on Thursday, saying an HPD officer’s emotional testimony went too far.
Day three of the trial started with defense attorney William Bagasol referring to the testimony from Officer Aaron Eveland on Tuesday. He broke down in tears when asked to describe the scene when he saw Telma Boinville’s body and then found her eight-year-old daughter, tied up and gagged.
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“I haven’t seen an officer cry much less cry like that in front of a jury. I think if it has an impact on me, it probably has an impact on the jury,” said Bagasol.
He questioned whether the prosecutor had planned for Eveland to respond that way.
“What had transpired on the witness stand is an understandable human reaction to the reliving of an experience that clearly for him was traumatic,” said Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell.
The judge denied the request for a mistrial. Some legal experts say it could wind up as grounds for an appeal.
“Certain convictions have been overturned because there was something that was introduced in the trial that was overly emotional or was unnecessarily emotional,” said legal expert Doug Chin.
Also on Thursday testimony described Brown’s erratic behavior after he was arrested. Officers wrapped Brown’s arms with paper bags and taped them to preserve evidence.
“He began to bite them off with his teeth, and he tried to lick the blood off of his hands. He wanted us to let him wash his hands and after that, he said, if you’re not gonna help me, I’m going to help myself,” said Christopher Young, who was an HPD officer at the time.
Officers testified that Brown and his then girlfriend Hailey Dandurand had blood stains on their clothes when they were arrested. Bagasol has told jurors that it was Dandurand who killed Boinville. He called an HPD officer to testify about her erratic behavior.
“She said something to the effect of, officer you may as well pull your gun out and shoot me after today. My life is over,” said HPD Cpl. David Kaawa.
Dandurand’s trial is scheduled in July.
