THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300343
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 95 lines
THE JUDGE: DISMISSED THE CHARGE, SAYING THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO
SUPPORT IT.
THE PROSECUTION: PREFERS TO TAKE CASE TO GRAND JURY, WHICH IS LIKELY TO
RESTORE THE CHARGE.< THE DEFENSE: WORRIES THAT SECRET GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS WILL PREVENT THEM FROM
HEARING THE PROSECUTION'S CASE.
The murder case against Tobin Jones is in limbo after a judge dismissed the charge Wednesday, saying Commonwealth's Attorney Chuck Griffith failed to present enough evidence to support the allegation that Jones killed his wife Megan.
Griffith, however, said he is confident a grand jury will reinstate the charge when it hears the case next week. Withholding the heart of the case from defense attorneys Wednesday was a strategic maneuver, Griffith said, that will ultimately strengthen his case against Jones.
Because next week's grand jury proceedings are secret, defense attorneys will not learn for months what evidence or witnesses Griffith plans to use in his case against Jones.
Jones won't be released because he is serving time for a stalking sentence and is awaiting trial on breaking and entering charges in another case.
Defense attorneys Stanley Sacks and James Broccoletti said Griffith's maneuver betrays the spirit of the law, which is intended to allow defendants to know the nature and strength of the charges against them.
``He shouldn't play hide the ball,'' Broccoletti said. ``. . . Once you arrest someone, you shouldn't hide the evidence by going through a secret hearing.''
Broccoletti said the move ``significantly hampers'' his ability to fairly defend his client because he has no opportunity to investigate or scrutinize the credibility of witnesses or testimony in advance.
Defendants and their attorneys are not allowed to attend a grand jury, where police and prosecutors offer all the evidence. There are no witnesses, no cross-examination and no opportunity for rebuttal.
A grand jury is perceived in the legal community as a ``rubber stamp'' for prosecutors. A preliminary hearing, by contrast, is held in public. A judge scrutinizes the evidence and assesses the credibility of witnesses before determining whether the charges have merit and should proceed to the grand jury and eventually a trial.
``They must have a lot of evidence we don't know about,'' Broccoletti said, adding that the evidence presented Wednesday was weak.
Griffith said, however, that he thought he gave the judge enough evidence to find probable cause.
He showed numerous photographs of the crime scene in the Joneses' home on Delaware Avenue, including pictures of an open second-floor window and the ladder detectives used to get into the house on May 18.
Jones looked pale, but showed no emotion, slowly blinking as he looked at photographs of his wife's body, blackened from decomposition. Baking soda had been sprinkled in the home's ductwork to reduce the ``foul odor,'' testimony showed.
Some testimony centered on conflicting statements from Tobin about Megan's whereabouts. Griffith also presented circumstantial evidence that Tobin was preparing to remove the body - wrapped in a sheet, blanket and blue Oriental rug - and dispose of it.
Tobin was at the house tending the lawn when police arrived last May.
Megan's car was attached to a U-Haul in the driveway. The passenger seat was in a reclining position, covered with a towel and newspaper sprinkled with baking soda. A neighbor testified that Tobin said Megan was moving to South Carolina on May 18 to start a fitness club.
Tobin had given away the bed that had been in the room where Megan was found and was in the process of moving dresser drawers out, testimony showed.
Testimony showed that a murder weapon was never found. Investigators first thought the weapon might have been a pair of size 10 1/2 tassel loafers, wrapped in a medical gown and placed between Megan's legs before she was rolled up in a rug. They also checked a small metal perfume decanter that was found under her body.
It was never determined, however, what inflicted several blows to Megan's head. She also apparently asphyxiated, a medical examiner determined.
Lead detective Pat Dunn said he found numerous bloody items in the bedroom where Megan's body was discovered. Those items and blood found under Megan's fingernails will be tested for DNA, Dunn said.
Bloodstains were also found on a pair of men's sweat pants found in the clothes dryer.
Despite the evidence, Griffith did not place Jones inside the home or connect him with anything in the bedroom. Though a skeleton key on Jones' key ring fit the locked bedroom door, it didn't prove he had killed his wife or locked the door, Broccoletti argued.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge James H. Flippen Jr. seemed stunned Wednesday when Griffith suddenly announced ``The commonwealth rests'' after less than three hours. The court had allowed two days for the hearing.
``Suspicious circumstances do not rise to the level of probable cause,'' Flippen said, dismissing the charges. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot
Tobin Jones, his defense attorneys and prosecutors examine
photographs of the scene where his wife, Megan, was found dead.
KEYWORDS: MURDER DISMISSED CHARGES