Killer Granted Delay in Death Penalty Retrial

Thomas Edwards fired the lawyers who wanted to try to save him from the death penalty.

Representing himself, Edwards has not questioned a single prosecution witness during his second penalty trial for the 1981 murder of a 12-year-old girl at a Cleveland National Forest campground.

He did not object to one witness for the prosecution whose testimony was excluded as “prejudicial” at his first trial.

And Edwards has told those close to him he wants a quick death penalty verdict.

But Wednesday, when Edwards could have brought his three-week-long trial to a close by not presenting a defense, he asked the judge for more time so he could consult with a lawyer.

Superior Court Judge James F. Judge agreed to a postponement until Tuesday, but he told Edwards he was not pleased.

“Now is not the time to prepare your defense, Mr. Edwards,” Judge told him. “Your attorneys were excused at your request. You should be ready to proceed.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Conley did not object.

“If he (Edwards) had an attorney, I would vociferously object to any delay,” Conley told Judge. “But under the circumstances, I’m in a real bind. I don’t want any allegation that we took advantage of him.”

Edwards, 41, was arrested in Maryland nine days after the Sept. 19, 1982, shooting of two 12-year-old girls who were on a family camping trip in the Cleveland National Forest. Vanessa Iberri of Lake Elsinore was killed. Kelly Cartier, her school chum, was shot in the head but survived.

Edwards was convicted of first-degree murder later that year, with Cartier the key witness against him. His attorneys conceded that Edwards shot the girls for no apparent reason after passing them in his truck. But three jurors voted against the death penalty, forcing a retrial on the question of punishment.

Retrial Appealed

More than two years passed while Edwards’ lawyers tried to block the retrial on appeal. After the court refused, Edwards requested that he be allowed to represent himself at the penalty retrial.

Edwards told the court Wednesday that he wants to consult with either Deputy Public Defender Michael Giannini or William Kopeny, his attorneys at the 1982 trial. Edwards told Judge that he was concerned about some discrepancies in testimony, but at Judge’s insistence, he did not specify what he meant.

Judge told Edwards that if his concern is about any testimony that had to do with his guilt, Edwards was wasting time.

“It’s already been determined that you committed the crime,” Judge said. “That’s not the issue here.”

Conley was forced to repeat much of his original case against Edwards to give some background to jurors. Conley presented many of the same witnesses, including Cartier.

Conley said later Wednesday that Edwards’ attitude is “mysterious” because “there have been no discrepancies in the testimony at all.”

Sources close to Edwards said the defendant’s request to talk to an attorney should not be interpreted as Edwards changing his mind about wanting the death penalty. More than likely, the sources said, Edwards just wants to clear up some points that are important only to him.

Campground Visited

On Tuesday, Judge led the jurors to the campground where the two girls were shot.

The prosecution closed its case against Edwards last week, with Cartier the final witness. She was in tears as she described how Edwards called out to her and her friend, “Hey girls . . . girls,” before shooting them.

Edwards received permission from the court to sit to the side of the courtroom, out of the view of Cartier while she testified. He had done the same thing at his trial three years ago, and when one of his attorneys questioned her, Edwards had cried out, “Leave the girl alone.”

One new witness was Charlotte Tibljas, Edwards’ former girlfriend. She testified that Edwards said repeatedly during jail visits that he wanted his ex-wife sacrificed in a religious ceremony and that he asked her to help him kidnap his ex-wife after he escaped from jail.

At Edwards’ first trial, his attorneys had successfully kept Tibljas off the witness stand, convincing Judge that her testimony was prejudicial.

Jurors at the penalty phase will decide only whether Edwards should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.