Trial Begins for AIDS Victim on Attempted Murder Charge

A gaunt AIDS victim charged with attempted murder for allegedly selling sex and tainted blood sat silently in court Tuesday as witnesses discussed precautions against spreading the disease through blood products.

Joseph Markowski, who was arrested in June after screaming, “Kill me! Kill me! I have AIDS!” in a Hollywood bank, is believed to be the first person in the nation to face such charges for allegedly selling blood and sex while knowing he had AIDS.

Municipal Court Judge Alban Niles is hearing evidence to decide whether Markowski should be ordered to stand trial on four counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with great bodily injury and two counts of attempted poisoning for alleged acts of prostitution.

Among those scheduled as witnesses is a man who contends that he contracted acquired immune deficiency syndrome by having sex with Markowski.

Paris Shaerrell, 45, is named as the victim of attempted murder in the charges against Markowski.

Shaerrell is being held in the county jail on charges of robbing a government employee of $30 in a park restroom. Superior Court Judge Robert Altman, noting that Shaerrell is a carrier of AIDS and has a history of mental illness, refused to release him from jail last month and ordered his guilty plea withdrawn. He set a trial on the robbery charge for Sept. 11.

Markowski was arrested June 23 in a Hollywood bank while attempting to grab a security guard’s gun.

Police searched his clothing and found a piece of paper indicating that he had recently given blood at Plasma Production Associates.

Although he was released the next day, police had already notified the plasma center, and on June 25, when Markowski reappeared at the center to sell blood, he was arrested, officials said.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner has quoted Markowski as telling investigators, “I know AIDS can kill. I’m aware that the tests do not always catch the virus, but when you have to survive you’ll do anything.”