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Jury to begin
deliberating verdict
in trial of Schweitzer
He is the second defendant to
By Rod Thompson
be tried for the kidnapping, sex
assault and rape in the death of
Dana Ireland 8 years ago
Star-BulletinHILO -- After tracking the investigation of the 1991 murder of his daughter Dana Ireland for eight years and monitoring the trial of one of the suspects last year, John Ireland was still stunned as final arguments concluded yesterday.
"What really hit me hard today was how brutal this was," he said.
Jurors were to begin their deliberations today.
After just two weeks of trial, the prosecution and defense in the case of suspect Albert Ian Schweitzer made their closing arguments yesterday. In the trial of Frank Pauline Jr. last summer, the case took five weeks.
Like Pauline, Schweitzer, 28, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and murder.
Deputy Prosecutor Lincoln Ashida described Ireland, 23, being hit by a car from behind while riding her sister's bicycle on Dec. 24, 1991, then being run over, the car crushing part of her pelvis.
The type of car was crucial. Ashida argued that only a Volkswagen beetle of the type owned by Schweitzer could have produced the damage seen on the bicycle. Schweitzer was seen driving it in the area shortly before the attack, Ashida said.
Schweitzer's father repainted the car in April 1992, shortly after police tried to interview Schweitzer, Ashida said. The purpose was to cover up damage to the car caused by hitting Ireland, he said.
Defense attorney James Biven said as much as an hour separated the time when Ireland passed a surfing spot and the time when Schweitzer left in his Volkswagen.
Witness Michael Ortiz, who said Schweitzer confessed to him in jail, earlier testified that Pauline pulled the injured Ireland into the front passenger seat of the Volkswagen. She bit his hand and he bit her breast, Ortiz said.
Biven said Ortiz was a criminal who committed up to 40 burglaries but got privileges after telling his story to prosecutors. "Why is the prosecution being led around by the nose by this common thug?" Biven asked. "Because they want his story."
Ashida tried to defuse that issue.
"If you're going to confess to someone in jail, you're not going to have a line of Boy Scouts you're going to confess to," he said.
Marcie Greenwell, who was excused from the jury last week because of pneumonia, returned to watch yesterday. She told the Star-Bulletin that the prosecution hadn't presented enough evidence to convict Schweitzer. But Ireland's mother Louise said the defense did a bad job. "I thought it was so boring it was pathetic," she said.
Dana Ireland Archive
