The attorney for a Davis teen accused of killing an elderly couple has filed a motion to exclude the public — including the media — from his client’s preliminary hearing, arguing that the ensuing publicity could jeopardize the youth’s right to a fair trial.
Coverage of 16-year-old Daniel William Marsh’s arrest and prosecution already has been “extensive and sensational,” Yolo County Deputy Public Defender Ron Johnson wrote in the 74-page motion, the bulk of which is copies of media accounts of the case that has made national and international headlines.
Johnson noted that many of articles have revolved around the prominence of victims Oliver “Chip” Northup and Claudia Maupin in the Davis community, while some have delved into the details of Marsh’s family troubles and mental-health history.
“The media coverage has made a spectacle out of this case, and the potential jurors in Yolo County are unlikely to forget the assumptions and statements publicized by the news media before Mr. Marsh’s trial,” Johnson wrote in the document, which was filed last Friday.
With no plans to offer a defense at the preliminary hearing — typical for that stage of a case — Johnson said the information presented in court “will be one-sided and incomplete, and could possibly irreparably harm Mr. Marsh’s right to a fair and impartial trial.”
A hearing regarding the defense motion is set for Aug. 29 before Yolo Superior Court Judge Timothy Fall, who has been assigned to preside over the double-homicide case.
The Davis Enterprise intends to oppose the motion in court, said Debbie Davis, the newspaper’s editor/assistant publisher.
“We believe the public has a right to hear the evidence that is presented at this young man’s preliminary hearing,” Davis said Monday.
Currently scheduled for Sept. 13, Marsh’s preliminary hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the teen to stand trial for the April 13 murders of Northup, 87, and his wife Maupin, 76. The couple were found stabbed to death in their Cowell Boulevard condominium.
Both were founding members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, while Northup was well-known for his lengthy legal career and his role as lead singer and guitarist for the local folk band Putah Creek Crawdads.
Marsh, who is being charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty June 19 to two counts of first-degree murder with enhancements for use of a knife, as well as four special circumstances alleging multiple murders, heinous and depraved murder, lying in wait and torture.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed the circumstances of the case that led to the allegations of torture or heinous and depraved murder.
While those details also are missing from Johnson’s motion, the defense attorney wrote that “the nature of this case is likely to further shock the community.” He argues that if the preliminary hearing is held behind closed doors, the resulting court reporter’s transcript should be sealed from public view as well.
“If the potential jurors in this county learn of the information presented at the preliminary hearing, it is unlikely that they will be able to forget or disregard it before trial,” Johnson wrote.
Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral declined to comment on the defense motion Monday, saying only that his office would be filing a response in the coming days.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene