Mom accused of killing son reindicted

A Palmer Superior Court grand jury Thursday reindicted Suzette Welton, the woman accused of burning down her Wasilla residence to collect on the insurance polices of her teen-age sons.

Welton was arraigned in Anchorage Superior Court Friday afternoon. She pled not guilty before Anchorage Superior Court Judge Elaine Andrews, who set her new trial date for March 26, 2002.

Welton, 38, was originally indicted last November on four counts of murder and one count of arson in connection with a Sept. 15, 2000, fire that resulted in the smoke-inhalation death of her 14-year-old son, Samuel. The boy perished in an upstairs bedroom of his mother's Mulchatna Drive duplex apartment.

Another son, Jeremiah, then 16, was able to get out of the home by jumping to the ground from a second-story window. Welton and her 6-year-old daughter, who were on the lower floor at the time of the fire, escaped uninjured.

The new indictment handed down Thursday maintains the same five counts -- one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree arson.

Judge Milton Souter rejected the original grand jury indictment on the grounds that prosecutors failed to present exculpatory evidence that would have shown Samuel Welton's state of mind. He is a possible suspect in setting the fire, according to the defense set forth by Welton's attorneys, Greg Heath and George Davenport.

Souter also sided with the defense in deciding certain evidence was too prejudicial and should not have been presented to the jury because it left Welton "without a chance."

The judge ruled that the state nonetheless had plenty of evidence to present to a new jury without the "tainted evidence," as the defense had called it in their motion to dismiss the original indictment.

The state was then charged with going back to Palmer Superior Court within 30 days of Souter's decision last month and presenting the case to a new grand jury.

Evidence presented by Assistant District Attorney Dave Barry at Wednesday's grand jury left out the points defense objected to as too prejudicial, such as the custody issue between Welton and her former husband, Dennis.

The new indictment says the grand jury believes there is enough evidence to place Welton on trial. The first count alleges she had the "intent to cause the death" of S.E.W., her son Samuel's initials.

The second count of the indictment alleges that she "knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in the death of S.E.W., under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life."

In the third count, the indictment charges that "acting alone or with another person, (she) committed or attempted to commit arson and, in the course of … that crime, caused the death of S.E.W., who was not a participant in the crime."

The fourth count alleges that Welton "intended to cause the death of J.I.W.," her son Jeremiah, and "engaged in conduct that constituted a substantial step towards the commission of that crime." The fourth count alleges that she intentionally damaged property by starting the fire.

Welton's trial was originally scheduled for Feb. 24, 2002. In light of the new indictment, that trial date needed to be put back, said defense attorney Heath. He and Davenport will need to review all the evidence presented at this latest grand jury stage, and raise motions if necessary, Heath said.