Judge Issues Gag Order in Cosby Killing

A Superior Court judge, in the wake of repeated disclosures about evidence against the accused killer of Ennis Cosby, issued an order Friday barring attorneys from making any statements relating to facts in the case.

Defense lawyers said Judge John Reid issued his gag order during a closed-door hearing. The order was not put in writing. Instead, in the judge’s presence, attorneys for Mikail “Michael” Markhasev, 18, told reporters that the judge had ordered all parties in the case to make no further disclosures about the facts and evidence.

“That is the court’s order . . . not to talk about the evidence in the case,” attorney Charles Lindner said after the hastily arranged hearing.

While Deputy Dist. Atty. Anne Ingalls declined to comment, Lindner and co-counsel Darren Kavinoky later said they took the order to be so encompassing that they could not say who requested it or why it was issued Friday.

But Lindner did remark that he thought the timing and reasons for the gag order were “self-evident.”

On Friday, news media accounts, citing an LAPD evidence report, reported that forensic tests on the .38-caliber revolver believed used in Cosby’s killing did not reveal any identifiable fingerprints.

It was the latest in a series of disclosures, including a recent report that a key witness in the case had, during a police lineup, ruled out Markhasev as the man she saw the night of Cosby’s killing. The defendant’s attorneys have repeatedly questioned the quality of evidence against their client while complaining that they haven’t received all the prosecutorial documents that will be used in the case.

The 27-year-old son of entertainer Bill Cosby was killed by a single gunshot to the head Jan. 16 during an apparently bungled robbery. His body was found next to his Mercedes-Benz, which had stopped near Mulholland Drive, just off the San Diego Freeway, because of a flat tire, authorities said.

Markhasev, whose next court appearance is scheduled for May 1, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Cosby--a charge that could bring him the death penalty if convicted.

Since his arrest March 12, the Ukrainian immigrant has been held without bail at the Men’s Central Jail.

Just who will represent Markhasev in the coming weeks remains unclear because his trio of attorneys, including Dale Rubin, were originally retained only through early proceedings.

On Friday, Lindner said efforts will be made to keep Markhasev’s legal team intact. “Mr. Markhasev is one of the least popular people in the country right now, and if anyone deserves . . . a diligent defense, he does,” Lindner said.

Meantime, Markhasev’s attorneys said that the Los Angeles district attorney’s office Friday provided about additional 1,500 pages of investigative reports in the case.

Before Friday’s hearing, Markhasev’s lawyers had complained that prosecutors appeared to be withholding evidence crucial to their defense. But after the hearing in Reid’s chambers, Lindner said prosecutors had turned over a considerable amount of information and pledged to provide more as it is compiled.

“Now, we can see what their case is all about,” Lindner told reporters. “We just can’t talk about it.”