Defense phase of Welton murder trial begins

PALMER -- The Suzette Welton murder trial continues into its fifth week with the defense calling witnesses to refute the state's evidence that she is guilty of murdering her teen son.

A neighbor who lived behind Welton's apartment, which caught fire Sept. 15, 2000, testified she awoke to the screams of Welton and her other teen son, Jeremiah, frantically calling Samuel. The 14-year-old was trapped inside his upstairs bedroom and apparently died of smoke inhalation. Investigators found his body on the floor near the window after the fire was put out.

Welton is on trial for arson and murder charges in connection with the fire. Public Defender Greg Heath and assistant public defender George Davenport contend that Welton was wrongly accused from the start.

Much of the testimony last week centered on the Alaska State Trooper investigation into the case. Health asked the lead investigator, Leonard Wallner, questions about soliciting interviews only from "non-Suzette backers."

"If an investigation is the search for the whole truth, why didn't you also interview Suzette backers?" Heath asked, citing the fact that Wallner didn't interview one of Welton's friends present after the fire.

Wallner answered he was told early on that the friend would not be willing to speak to Alaska State Troopers investigating the case.

Heath showed examples in the ongoing investigation where witnesses said Wallner had given them information about the acquired evidence. "Isn't that like poisoning the well?" Heath asked.

Wallner, who sat on the hot seat for most of the week answering hundreds of questions about the investigation, said troopers interviewed 150 people in the case. Some, like Welton's boyfriend Mike Minzlaff, were interviewed several times.

As he conducted interviews, Wallner said he found that witnesses in this case wanted to know about the investigation to date because they knew the family, and wanted to understand what happened to Samuel. He gave them limited information, he said.

Heath called the trooper's techniques a "legal form of entrapment" in the case of secretly taping interviews between Welton and Jeremiah, and between Welton and her former husband, Dennis Welton.

But Wallner said investigators use others to speak to a suspect in such cases in order to "draw out information" that wouldn't be given directly to officers. Legal documents called glass warrants issued by judges authorize police to do this, District Attorney Roman Kalytiak added.

The trial's emotional level at the close of last week was intensified by a juror who mumbled "I'm going to throw up," just prior to a break on Thursday. Judge Milton Souter overheard him, and questioned him during the 20-minute recess. Then he brought the lone juror back into the courtroom to ask what he meant.

"The animosity in the courtroom was really aggravating," he said. "This is a serious matter and I felt that what was going on wasn't helpful."

"Yes, it doesn't get more serious than this," Souter said, and jurors could expect that courtroom action wouldn't always be easy going. Trial attorneys must be aggressive and challenging because they have a right to confront witnesses, he said. He apologized for embarrassing the juror by bringing him into the courtroom alone.

"I just want to look past the animosity to find out the truth and be a fair juror," he said, adding that he felt well enough to continue on.

Much of the recorded testimony late in the prosecution's case was charged with the family's grief as they discussed the fire and Sam's death. Jurors heard Samuel's father, Dennis Welton, trying to comfort Jeremiah the day after Sam's death. Dennis also asked Suzette why she didn't phone him about their son dying.

"We've been to hell and back," Suzette Welton said. "I thought the troopers told you."

They heard Jeremiah's distraught voice as he told his dad he "just wanted to sit here a while;" that he wasn't convinced he had done everything he could to save Sam.

And they heard Suzette Welton crying hours after the fire as Wallner spoke to her. "I've asked earlier if I could see Sam. I don't know if that is allowed," she said.

"It's allowed, Suzette, but it's not a good idea. Not now," Wallner said.

"I didn't know if I could just hold him," she said, sobbing.

The trial continues today with the defense presenting more witnesses. The defense was estimating the trial would last about two more weeks.