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Last trial in Ireland case
By Rod Thompson
postponed until August
Star-BulletinHILO -- Trial for Shawn Schweitzer, the last of three men accused of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder in the 1991 death of Dana Ireland, has been postponed to Aug. 21 by Judge Riki May Amano.
Louise Ireland, the victim's mother, said outside the courtroom yesterday that she and her husband John will return to their home in Virginia soon, but they hope to come back for the trial.
"It's a long trip. It wears me out," she said.
John Ireland noted that Aug. 21 is the day when individual questioning of the 300 prospective jurors will begin, and the trial itself won't be until sometime in September.
Judge Riki May Amano set July 14 as the date for the 300 to come to court to pick up question forms regarding the case.
The trial was originally scheduled for March 6 but was postponed after Schweitzer's attorney Keith Shigetomi said he needed more time to prepare. The prosecution did not object.
Shigetomi said a transcript must be made of the recently completed trial of Albert Ian Schweitzer, 28, the brother of Shawn, 24. The older brother was found guilty and is to be sentenced April 11.
A third suspect, Frank Pauline Jr., 26, was convicted last year and is serving a minimum 180-year sentence.
Prosecutors say Shawn Schweitzer was with his brother and Pauline when Ireland, 23, was run over with a Volkswagen beetle on Christmas Eve, 1991, sexually assaulted and abandoned to bleed to death.
Dana Ireland Archive
