Posted on: Tuesday, July 24, 2001
Suspect plans to fight extradition
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Unless he changes his mind, Delmar Edmonds, who is being held on murder charges in the 1975 death of a Kailua girl, will not be extradited to Hawai'i for at least another month.
Edmonds is being held in Indiana on charges stemming from the March 1975 death of 13-year-old Dawn "Dede" Bustamante.
The former Kane'ohe Marine did not waive his extradition rights at a hearing today in Marion County, Ind.
The judge advised Edmonds of his rights, told him he could contest the extradition request by the Honolulu prosecutors office and set a hearing for Aug. 28, said David Griffith, chief of municipal divison of the Marion County Prosecutors Office.
Edmonds did not say in court how he felt about the extradition request, but his attorney has promised a vigorous fight. "Right now the posture of the case is that it is going to be contested," Griffith said.
Edmonds was arrested July 17 after Navy investigators and Honolulu police detectives revived the case with fresh interviews, including revelations by former Marines that they had heard Edmonds confess to the murder.
Edmonds, interviewed twice in 1975, has denied involvement. His attorney, Marcel Pratt, has said police have the wrong man.
Griffith said Edmonds can change his mind and allow extradition at any point before or during the August hearing.
Pratt said after the hearing that his client needs to know more about the charges he is facing before deciding on extradition. He said he has not received a copy of the 12-page affidavit that prompted Edmonds' arrest.
"We can't make an intelligent decision yet," Pratt said. "I think my client would feel more secure just knowing a little more about what he is going to Hawai'i to face. He is in the dark."
Edmonds is being held in the Marion County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Pratt said the hearing drew about 25 friends and family.
"He has a very close, supportive family," Pratt said. "Needless to say, there were a lot of tears."
