Defense: Maust confession illegally obtained
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Saturday, October 2, 2004 12:09 AM CDT
A lawyer for accused serial killer David Edward Maust is asking a judge to throw out his confession to police last year.Attorney Thomas Vanes alleges Hammond police violated the Hammond man's constitutional rights last year when they refused to let him speak with an attorney before he gave a statement about the bodies buried in his basement.
Maust is facing the death penalty on charges he killed 19-year-old Nicholas James, 16-year-old James Raganyi and 13-year-old Michael Dennis, all of Hammond, at a house he rented at 4933 Ash Ave. in Hammond.The state alleges he murdered James on May 2 and the younger victims separately on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11.Hammond police arrested Maust Dec. 10 and unearthed the bodies in mid-December from beneath a concrete slab in his basement.Vanes' motion says Hammond police didn't questioning Maust before giving him a Miranda warning against self-incrimination and telling him he had the right to an attorney.Vanes also alleges another reason why the confession should be suppressed is because Hammond police didn't have probable cause to arrest Maust in December and that his later statement was a product of that illegal detention.Vanes is asking Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray to have a hearing on his request Nov. 18. Maust is scheduled to go to trial next March.
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