THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240530
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
A divided panel of the Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld the capital murder conviction of Shawn Paul Novak in the stabbing deaths of two Virginia Beach boys.
The bodies of 9-year-old Daniel Wayne Gier and 7-year-old Christopher Scot Weaver were found under pine branches in a wooded area of the city on March 5, 1991.
Novak, who was 16 at the time, admitted the killings four days later; a jury rejected his insanity defense and found him guilty of killing the two boys. Judge John K. Moore sentenced him to life in prison instead of imposing the death penalty.
The techniques a detective used to elicit Novak's confession were the main issues on appeal. Writing for himself and Judge Jere M.H. Willis, Judge Richard S. Bray rejected the contention of Novak's attorneys that the youth was in custody and undergoing interrogation when he first acknowledged that he had killed the boys.
Judge James W. Benton Jr. dissented.
``The detailed questioning of Novak's conduct, movements and statements during interrogations which lasted several hours each over the course of four days manifestly establish that Novak was a suspect in the police's investigation.
``The interrogation was accusatory, it was suggestive, repetitive and deceptive,'' Benton wrote.
KEYWORDS: APPEAL MURDER CONVICTION by CNB