
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 2, 1995                   TAG: 9507030153
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WINCHESTER                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRIAL WON'T BE MOVED, JUDGE RULES

The trial of a man accused of abducting and murdering 12-year-old Valerie L. Smelser will not be moved despite the attention the case has drawn, a judge has ruled.

Suzanne L. Perka, attorney for Norman Hoverter, argued in Franklin County Circuit Court that news media accounts of the case and the inflammatory accusations against her client would deprive him of a fair trial.

But Judge James L. Berry ruled Friday that the defense failed to show that there was such widespread prejudice against Hoverter that 12 impartial county residents couldn't be found to serve on the jury.

Berry also ruled that prosecutors must provide the defense with the approximate time and date of Valerie's death, but denied a defense motion that the prosecution say where they believe she was killed.

Hoverter, 50, was living with Valerie and her mother, Wanda A. Smelser, on Jan. 22 when the slaying is thought to have occurred.

Wanda Smelser, who is Hoverter's fiance, also is charged with murder.

Perka said she needs the time of death so she can prepare an alibi defense. She said her client wasn't home on the morning of Jan. 22. Hoverter has said he left that morning to have work done on his car.

In arguing for the change of venue, Perka said Hoverter's right to a fair trial had been jeopardized by media accounts of his prior criminal record, which cannot be used as evidence in his August trial, and by news stories and accounts about semen being found on Valerie's rectal area.

Hoverter hasn't been charged with sexually abusing Valerie, but Commonwealth's Attorney Lawrence R. Ambrogi has said additional charges are possible. A grand jury is scheduled to meet next week.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Glenn R. Williamson said the media accounts contained few facts about the evidence in the case. Police and prosecutors haven't told reporters how Valerie was killed or shown any photos of her body, which was found nude in a ravine a day after her death.

Williamson also pointed out that the defense presented only 17 affidavits from county residents who said Hoverter couldn't get a fair trial.

Considering the amount of media attention the case has drawn locally and from the Washington, D.C., area, Ambrogi and Perka said later that a larger-than-usual number of potential jurors would have to be called.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB