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VW ‘Bug’ owners
affected verdict
4 of the jurors who convicted
Schweitzer of killing Ireland
had owned such carsSchweitzer verdict doesn't
By Rod Thompson
ease suffering for families
Star-BulletinHILO -- Four jurors who found Albert Ian Schweitzer guilty of the murder, kidnapping and rape of Dana Ireland once owned Volkswagen "Beetles" and their experience with the car helped convict Schweitzer yesterday.
Deputy Prosecutor Lincoln Ashida argued Ireland was hit by a car from behind while riding her sister's bicycle, then run over with the car, crushing part of her pelvis. Ashida persuaded jurors 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.
The defense argued that a truck hit Ireland and that there wasn't enough damage on Schweitzer's Volkswagen for it to have run over the bicycle.
"People (who owned one) know that a Volkswagen can do anything and go anywhere," said jury forewoman Maria "Kate" Pendered. With its engine in the rear, the front of an accelerating Volkswagen would lift up and over a bicycle, she said.
Pendered herself once owned a 1956 Volkswagen, the same year as Schweitzer's.
Schweitzer, 28, is the second person convicted for one of the Big Island's most notorious crimes -- the Christmas Eve 1991 murder, kidnapping and rape of Ireland, 23.
Schweitzer's brother, Shawn, 24, is to be tried on the same charges next month. Another jury convicted Frank Pauline Jr. of murder, kidnapping and sex assault in the case. Pauline is serving a minimum of 180 years in prison.
Schweitzer's sentencing is scheduled for April 11. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The jury returned the verdict after deliberating about six hours over two days. Judge Riki May Amano ordered that there be no outbursts when the verdict was read and the courtroom remained quiet as Schweitzer was found guilty on all charges. The jury had the option of convicting him of manslaughter instead of murder.
Ireland died in Hilo Hospital on Christmas morning after she was left bleeding from her injuries on a remote Puna road.
The prosecution argued that Schweitzer repainted his Volkswagen after the attack to hide damage to the car. Jurors were shown the stripped-down shell of the car.
"We felt kind of an affront that a car was totally destroyed. Why was it destroyed? Because they couldn't let anyone see the interior. You don't do that to a nice car in good condition if you don't have something to hide," Pendered said.
The defense tried to paint several prosecution witnesses as unreliable because they had criminal records. It didn't work, she said.
Jurors also accepted the testimony of star witness Michael Ortiz, Schweitzer's former cellmate, who said Schweitzer confessed to the crime in prison.
"I especially enjoyed the career burglar," Pendered said referring to Ortiz. "I never met one before. He looked so bright-eyed and innocent, and he wasn't." The version Schweitzer told Ortiz was self-serving, but jurors never doubted that Schweitzer told the story to Ortiz, she said.
That the DNA of the sperm found in Ireland's body didn't match any known suspect didn't bother jurors, Pendered said. They accepted the idea that there was a fourth unknown attacker.
Pendered also questioned the videotaped testimony of forensic pathologist Werner Spitz who said Ireland was hit by a vehicle at hip level.
Jurors noted that Spitz claimed to have performed or supervised 50,000 autopsies in his career. "When on earth could he have put in that time?" Pendered asked. "If he exaggerated in that, he may have exaggerated in other things."
Schweitzer verdict doesn’t
By Rod Thompson
ease suffering for families
Star-BulletinHILO -- The Dana Ireland murder case involved tragedies for two families as the son of Jerry and Linda Schweitzer was convicted yesterday for the murder of the daughter of John and Louise Ireland.
As Louise Ireland walked out of the courtroom after the verdict was read, Jerry Schweitzer said to her, "I wish you a long, long life."
She replied, "Thank you, but I can't see my daughter again."
John Ireland said he spoke to Jerry Schweitzer. "I told him he has my sympathies." Ireland said he couldn't remember Schweitzer's reply.
The Schweitzers declined to comment following the verdict.
The Irelands spoke to reporters after taking time to collect their emotions.
"I feel like maybe it's behind me," said Louise Ireland, holding a bouquet of roses given her by a friend. "Maybe I can go on with a little of my life," she said.
The guilty verdicts did not surprise her, she said. "I sort of expected it would happen. I could not see anybody doing such a terrible thing and getting away with it.
"They did everything to my daughter except cannibalize her," she said. "She died a horrible death."
John Ireland said he felt a sense of relief, but he reminded listeners that Ian Schweitzer's brother Shawn, 24, has yet to be tried on the same charges.
"This isn't over." he said.
"The last eight years have been hell," he said. "We still have a long way to go."
Dana Ireland Archive
