THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290326
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
An attorney for the state has asked the Virginia Supreme Court to dismiss three points on which Jens Soering is appealing his convictions in the murders of Nancy and Derek Haysom.
Soering, 29, the son of a German diplomat, confessed to slashing his then-girlfriend's parents to death, but contends now in an appeal before the state's high court that a judge erred by letting jurors hear the confession.
Soering is also arguing that the judge believed he was guilty before the trial and that the trial should have been moved elsewhere because of pretrial publicity.
Assistant Attorney General John H. McLees Jr. asked the high court to dismiss three of the five arguments Soering has raised in appealing his 1990 conviction. Most of Soering's contentions have already been denied or could have been raised before the appeals court in 1991.
He took his case unsuccessfully several times to the Court of Appeals.
Soering claims he told police that he committed the crimes only because he thought his father's diplomatic immunity would shield him from trial in the United States and allow him to protect his girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom. Soering says he made the confession after repeatedly requesting an attorney.
Elizabeth Haysom, now 31, pleaded guilty in 1987 to helping plan the murders, but she has denied participating in the killings. She is serving a 90-year sentence at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County.
McLees has asked for an additional 30 days to respond to two other issues Soering has raised.
In one issue, Soering claims the prosecution never told him about the arrest days after the slayings of two men who were caught with knives and a travel bag. Soering's appeal says a bag and thousands of dollars were reportedly missing from the Haysom home.
The two men were later convicted of murder in another stabbing within days of the Haysom slayings.
The other issue contends that Soering's lead attorney, Richard Neaton, did a poor job defending him because of emotional or mental problems.
Neaton, who once practiced law in Michigan, had his license revoked in 1993 after being charged with lying to a client and misusing another client's money. He told the Michigan Bar Disciplinary Board he suffered from emotional or mental problems during the time of Soering's trial and first round of appeals.
Soering claims that during his trial, Neaton failed to vigorously challenge the prosecution's contention that a bloody sockprint at the scene came from Soering. Neaton never pursued information he had that the bloody sockprint was made by a foot much smaller than Soering's, he claimed.
Such information, Soering contends, would reinforce his argument that Elizabeth Haysom committed the murders, possibly with help from others.
KEYWORDS: MURDER APPEAL by CNB