Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
Defense attorney Adam Stone has filed a motion to dismiss charges of kidnapping and murder against a Galion man accused of killing his father.
In a press release Monday, Stone said he filed a lengthy dismissal motion in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Frederick Saunders Jr. who is accused in the death of Frederick Saunders Sr. Stone said he intends to file the same motion on behalf of the younger Saunders’ wife who is also charged as a co-defendant in the case.
At issue, Stone says, is the county prosecutor allowing the body to be released from the Lucas County Coroner’s Office after which it was cremated at the request of the family.
Medical personnel at Galion Community Hospital initially said the older Saunders’ death was due to a massive heart attack. However, a later autopsy by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office ruled the death was a homicide. Stone argues in his motion that the inability to get a third, independent ruling on the cause of death prevents a fair trial.
Both defendants in the case are scheduled to go to trial in July.
The entirety of the press release can be seen below.
This morning defense attorney, Adam Stone, filed a voluminous Motion to Dismiss the kidnapping and murder charges against Frederick Lee Saunders, Jr filed in the Crawford County Common Pleas Court.
The Motion provides that the prosecution’s authorization for the destruction of the alleged victim’s body, prior to examination by a defense expert, and after it had notice that cause of death was an issue in the case violates due process and Mr. Saunders’ right to fair trial and defense.
Mr. Saunders and his wife are charged with kidnapping and conspiring to kill Mr. Saunders’ father, Frederick Saunders, Sr. At the time of the alleged victim’s death, Galion Community Hospital ruled the death a massive heart attack. Several days later, the Lucas County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide. Despite the differing medical opinions and without affording the defense the opportunity to independently examine the body, the prosecution released Mr. Saunders’ remains for cremation, destroying the evidence for all time.
Stone’s motion cites state and federal constitutional provisions, the Ohio Revised Code and case law which support the presumption that state had a duty to preserve the alleged victim’s remains for independent analysis – especially when it was on notice of the differing medical opinions as to cause of death; and that the state’s failure to preserve this evidence permanently and forever deprives his and his client’s wife’s right to a fair trial.
Stone’s motion will be set for hearing prior to the jury trial scheduled in the case for July, 2016.
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