Details emerge in attempted murder

PALMER — In one of his first appearances in court since he was indicted for attempted murder, a judge has denied a Valley man’s bail request.

Joseph D. Packard, 26, was initially charged with assault when he was arrested Dec. 19 at a house off of Beverly Lakes Road. But when the grand jury got hold of the case, it decided Dec. 23 that what Packard was alleged to have done warrants an attempted murder count.

Still, said his attorney, the facts of the case really add up to an assault charge.

“The state has recently indicted Mr. Packard for attempted murder. I do not believe that they will persist in that,” public defender Jeff Bradley said. “Attempted murder is overreaching.”

On the other side, prosecutor Trina Sears laid out what the allegations are. She said Packard was beating a woman and her 7-year-old daughter was there.

“He was strangling her with his hands and when her daughter tried to intervene he threw the daughter off,” Sears said.

He said the daughter ran to a neighbor’s house to get help. The neighbor called the police.

When Packard heard that, Sears said, he told the woman, “The police are coming, I might as well kill you.” So he used a torn-up shirt to strangle her until she passed out.

Packard was charged with attempted murder for allegedly strangling the woman and with assault for allegedly hurting her daughter. Monday, Packard he came to court asking that his bail conditions be modified and that a judge appoint a custodian to watch over him when he’s released.

Christina Packard took the stand offering her services as custodian. Throughout the proceedings, she was referred to as Packard’s wife. Court records show neither she nor Joseph Packard has filed for divorce. On the stand, she said she hasn’t been in a relationship with Joseph Packard since 2007. She lives in Anchorage.

Sears asked her about domestic violence cases. Wasn’t she charged with assaulting her brother during a confrontation over the brother’s feelings regarding Joseph Packard?

Well, not really, Christina Packard said. They were arguing. She pushed him out of her house. Sears noted, in that case, that the charges were dropped when the brother decided neither he nor she was innocent in the conflict.

But what about that incident in 2004 when Joseph Packard was arrested on suspicion he’d hit Christina Packard?

It was a misunderstanding, Christina Packard testified, and she cleared it up with a call to the police.

“I explained that he never hit me,” she said.

Sears asked whether, with children of her own, Christina Packard was worried about having Joseph Packard living with her. Isn’t she aware he’s charged with assaulting a child?

“Yes, and I don’t believe it,” Christina Packard replied. “When it comes to our children Mr. Packard has been nothing but an excellent father.”

In the end, Superior Court Judge Vanessa White decided that she couldn’t approve Christina Packard as a custodian. In fact, in light of the new attempted murder charge, she bumped his bail amount from $10,000 to $15,000.

White said she was troubled by evidence that Joseph Packard might have hit Christina Packard in the past.

“The further concern I have is the statement Ms. Packard made that she does not believe he is capable of harming a child,” the judge said. “She is not taking the indictments as seriously as she should be.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.