Ireland
suspect’s trial
starts March 1
The judge rejects attempts
By Rod Thompson
to dismiss, delay or move the
trial of Frank Pauline Jr.
Star-BulletinHILO -- In court action lasting just three minutes, Judge Riki May Amano this morning rejected defense attempts to dismiss, delay, or move the trial of Frank Pauline Jr. for the 1991 murder of Big Island visitor Dana Ireland.
Pauline's trial, expected to last eight weeks, is now expected to go forward March 1.
Ireland, 23, was hit by a car in the Puna District on Christmas Eve 1991, taken to a remote road, raped, beaten, and abandoned.
She died at Hilo Hospital at midnight.
Amano had already signaled her unwillingness three weeks ago to slow the case, saying defense attorney Clifford Hunt had had ample time to prepare objections to the proceedings, but she said she would give him additional time until today so as not to jeopardize the case.
In related action, police records showed officers have located the last of three men wanted for unspecified reasons in connection with the case.
The man located by police, identified only as a 31-year-old male on a police log, was linked to the Ireland case by a case number on the log.
The man was described as being located Tuesday at Kapiolani Street, which is also the location of police headquarters. As with all matters in the Ireland case, police are barred by a court order from discussing the circumstances of the man being found.
Amano has issued an order that permits authorities to obtain saliva samples from certain people for DNA testing and bite marks from them for comparison with bite marks found on Ireland's body.
The order followed the laboratory finding last year that the DNA of sperm from a single Ireland attacker didn't match that of two previous suspects.
Pauline has said he participated in the attack on Ireland but did not rape her.
Although Amano's order is believed to cover the latest man to be located, plus two others, it is locked in a cabinet at court and there is no way to verify the link.
Stanton Oshiro, the lawyer for one of the other men who was sought, has said his client is not a suspect in the Ireland case.
Police generally do not consider a person to be a suspect until after they have gathered evidence linking him to a crime, and the purpose of taking DNA and bite samples would be to gather evidence.
Oshiro's client, Wayne Nasario, 35, was the only one to be publicly identified because he was arrested for pending traffic tickets not connected to the Ireland case. The other man who was wanted was identified only as a 37-year-old male in police records.
