Edmonds freed, but not exonerated
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
Circuit Judge Marie Milks yesterday dismissed an indictment against an Indiana man who was accused of the1975 murder of a 13-year-old Kailua girl and the attempted murder of a second 13-year-old girl.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
But Milks left open the possibility that Delmar Edmonds, 47, could be re-indicted on the charges in the future and said DNA test results received Friday did not fully exonerate him.
Delmar Edmonds, in court yesterday for dismissal of murder and attempted murder charges against him, still could be reindicted if new evidence surfaces.
Edmonds was arrested in Indianapolis on July 17, 2001, and charged with the slaying of Dawn "Dede" Bustamante and the attempted murder of Cherrie Verdugo.
Verdugo, who survived the March 14, 1975, incident, told police in the hours after Bustamante was killed that a man had ordered them into a car at gunpoint and taken them to an isolated area behind the Pali golf course, where Bustamante was sexually assaulted and shot when she tried to escape.
At the time, Edmonds was a Marine stationed in Kane'ohe.
The prosecution's case against Edmonds unraveled Friday when a Louisiana laboratory that specializes in the testing of small and possibly degraded DNA samples called prosecutors here to say that its test results indicated Edmonds should be excluded as a suspect in the sexual assault of Bustamante.
In announcing her decision to grant the prosecution's request to dismiss the indictment against Edmonds, Milks said the DNA test results "do not appear to exonerate the defendant" but only exclude him as the person whose semen was found in Bustamante's body.
Milks agreed with prosecution claims that it has not been shown that the DNA samples had not been tampered with or that the test results from the New Orleans lab were accurate.
While she granted the request to drop the charges against Edmonds, Milks said he was "not deemed to be absolved of any guilt" and said that even without DNA test results that linked Edmonds to the case, there was "ample evidence" to indict him.
City Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader, who handled the case against Edmonds, told Milks that his office "will pursue things in hopes of shedding light on what happened during the latter hours of Dede Bustamante's life."
He asked Milks to dismiss the indictment against Edmonds "without prejudice," allowing the possibility he could be reindicted at a future date. Trader also asked Milks not to set a deadline by which investigators must compile new evidence, if any, and seek a new indictment against Edmonds.
Edmonds' lawyer, state Deputy Public Defender Susan Arnett, told Milks that Edmonds has already been through a "nightmare" and should not have to live "the rest of his life" fearing that he might be reindicted.
She said the state essentially ignored Bustamante's death for 25 years and only played a minor role in having the case reopened by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2000 because the Honolulu Police Department agreed to participate in a joint investigation.
Edmonds would be denied a fair trial if he were to be indicted again "five, 10 or 20 years" down the road because witnesses in the case will have died and the evidence in the case will have been lost or degraded further, Arnett said.
"The state had ample time in 27 years to make its case against Mr. Edmonds," Arnett said.
In ruling that Edmonds could be reindicted if evidence warrants, Milks said that the public has an interest in finding the person responsible when a homicide occurs.
"In murder cases, the state should be allowed to investigate to the furthest extent possible," Milks said.
As he left the courtroom, Edmonds said he intends to return to Indianapolis "as soon as possible."
Arnett said she was not surprised by Milks' decision regarding a future indictment against Edmonds or that the prosecutor's office will pursue the case.
"I just hope Mr. Edmonds doesn't die before he is fully exonerated," Arnett said. "The fact is, he didn't do it.
"The fact is, the state made a mistake and they are going to continue to do whatever it takes" to convict Edmonds, Arnett said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
