Judge allows key witness to testify in murder case
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A key witness will be allowed to testify at the trial of a former Kane'ohe Marine accused of murdering a 13-year-old Kailua girl 27 years ago, a Circuit Court judge has ruled.
Deputy Public Defender Susan Arnett had sought to prevent Cherie Verdugo-McCoy from testifying at the murder trial of Delmar Edmonds, who is accused of killing Dawn "Dede" Bustamante and attempting to kill Verdugo-McCoy in March 1975.
Arnett had argued before Circuit Judge Marie Milks last week that because Verdugo-McCoy was given sodium amytal, or "truth serum," during an interview with police detectives about two months after the incident, and was asked "suggestive questions," Verdugo-McCoy's' memory of the incident might be forever tainted and unreliable.
But Milks yesterday denied the request to keep Verdugo-McCoy from testifying at the trial. Instead, she said the prosecution may not use any portion of the transcripts that resulted from the so-called "truth serum" interview in May 1975 to help Verdugo-McCoy refresh her recollections about what happened the night Bustamante was killed.
Further, the prosecution may use only those portions of three interviews done with Verdugo-McCoy in 2001 so long as they jibe with what she told investigators the night of the slaying and the day after.
The trial is scheduled for Oct. 10, although it likely will be postponed to give both sides more time to prepare their cases.
City Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader called Verdugo-McCoy's testimony "critical" to the case against Edmonds. "Obviously, she was there the night of the incident and will be testifying as to the events of that evening," Trader said.
Edmonds, 48, is accused of abducting Bustamante and Verdugo-McCoy from the side of a Kailua road and taking them to an area behind the Pali Golf Course. Bustamante was killed by a shot to the back of the head, but Verdugo-McCoy escaped and called police.
Charges of murder and attempted murder were brought against Edmonds in 2001 after "cold case" specialist Bruce Warshawsky of the Pearl Harbor office of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service reopened the case and began questioning former Marines who served with Edmonds in 1975.
Edmonds has pleaded not guilty and denies any involvement in the incident.
Arnett also filed requests to have the charges against Edmonds dropped based on the 26-year-delay in indicting him and argued the Naval Criminal Investigative Service had no legal basis to reopen the case against Edmonds who was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1975.
Milks said that while there was a delay in bringing charges against Edmonds, it will not keep him from receiving a fair trial and did not result from prosecution efforts to gain a tactical advantage.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service did not violate federal laws or regulations by reopening the case and working with the Honolulu Police Department in bringing charges against Edmonds, Milks said.
Arnett said she was not surprised by the rulings, but said they should be troubling to anyone who might be charged with a crime and expected to explain in great detail "where they were and who they were with" on a particular night more than 25 years ago.
At least three of the Marines Edmonds was stationed with in Kane'ohe in 1975, and who might have been called as alibi witnesses, have died and some of the physical evidence in the case has disappeared, Arnett said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
