Pauline brother
recalls defendant’s
confession

John Gonsalves tells the jury
he would never sell his
brother out

Experts to give opposing views of vehicle

By Dana Williams
Star-Bulletin

HILO -- Frank Pauline Jr.'s brother told a jury yesterday that on the night Dana Ireland was murdered, Pauline and other men said they struck a dog with a car.

John Gonsalves, 32, said that a few years later, Pauline called him from prison and confessed to killing Ireland.

Gonsalves testified yesterday in the trial of his younger brother, who is accused of murder, sexual assault and kidnapping in the 1991 death of Ireland.

On the evening of Dec. 24, 1991, Pauline was with Albert Ian Schweitzer and Shawn Schweitzer at the Pauline family home, Gonsalves said. A fourth man might have been with them, he said.

Associated Press
John Gonsalves testifies in the murder trial of
his brother, Frank Pauline Jr.

"They were all talking about they had hit a dog. They were laughing and stuff," he said.

Gonsalves said the men had been riding in Ian Schweitzer's Volkswagen bug, which had damage to the passenger side of the hood. The Schweitzer brothers have also been charged in Ireland's murder.

In 1994, Gonsalves said, Pauline called and told him about the case.

"He told me that he and Ian and Shawn was driving, and they saw this girl on a bike, and they were giving her gestures, and when she refused, Ian got all mad .... he went and banged the girl. He ran over her, supposedly ran over her again and they grabbed her and took her," Gonsalves said.

Gonsalves said Pauline told him the men took Ireland "into a trail or something," and Ian raped her. Then, Ian forced Shawn to rape her, Gonsalves told the jury.

Pauline told him he grabbed a tire iron "and he just whack 'em over the head" because he was scared and didn't know what to do, Gonsalves testified.

Prosecutor Charlene Iboshi asked him if the woman said anything during the attack.

"The girl at one time when Ian and guys was doing, raping the girl beating her up, punching her and stuff, that she was begging them not to. You know, to 'Stop already, please, I'm not going to say nothing.' She told that to all them," Gonsalves said.

Gonsalves said after the confession, he asked his brother to go to the police.

Although Gonsalves had a pending drug case at the time, he said he didn't go to the police with information about the Ireland murder to get a deal for himself.

"In Hilo everybody talks that I turned my brother in. I'd never do that. I would never sell my brother out. But the truth is the truth, and that was wrong, and that is wrong, and I feel for the family," Gonsalves said.

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Experts to give opposing views
of vehicle that hit Ireland

By Dana Williams
Star-Bulletin

Traffic accident reconstruction specialists will offer their theories on the 1991 crash involving murder victim Dana Ireland, but they'll be limited in the types of information they can present to the jury.

Kenneth Baker, who works as the head of the accident investigation unit at Northwestern University's Traffic Institute, is scheduled to testify for the prosecution today in the trial of Frank Pauline Jr. Baker will be allowed to explain a report he submitted about the crash, but he won't be allowed to critique the work of defense witness James Campbell, Judge Riki May Amano ruled yesterday.

Campbell, an engineer and accident consultant based in Pahoa, will be allowed to explain his evaluation of the crash, but he won't be allowed to use a computer simulation.

Pauline and two brothers, Albert Ian and Shawn Schweitzer, are accused of running into Ireland with a 1957 Volkswagen bug. Ireland was riding a bicycle on Christmas Eve when she was struck by a car, abducted, raped and left to die.

Reports from the traffic specialists were included with documents filed yesterday by defense attorney Clifford Hunt.

In a 1996 report on the case, Baker concluded:

The vehicle that struck Ireland had a narrow, rounded bumper that was 4 inches from top to bottom and 12 inches from the ground. These are the same dimensions as the bumper from the vehicle confiscated from the Schweitzers.

The "frontal geometry of the striking vehicle would not have been flat like that of a pickup truck. Rather, it would have been curvilinear and lower to the ground." She was not hit by a full-size vehicle.

The Volkswagen that police confiscated in the case "could be the vehicle involved in the collision with Dana Ireland."

Campbell, who testified yesterday that he lives within 8 miles of the crash site, said in his 1999 report:

The vehicle confiscated by police is not a 1957 Volkswagen. It is "a group of VW parts" with a chassis from 1953. The vehicle had no engine; the interior of the passenger compartment had been stripped; the front and rear bumpers had been removed; both running boards were missing. "The vehicle was heavily modified."

There had been several layers of paint on the chassis. Most recently, yellow paint had been sprayed over purple.

The injuries suffered by Ireland, and the bicycle damage, "were possibly caused by a rear impact by a small pickup truck made between 1965 and 1975."

By using the computer simulation, which won't be presented to the jury, Campbell concluded, "It is a reasonable engineering probability that Ms. Ireland was not struck by this VW vehicle."

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