Suspect in Cosby Killing Enters Not Guilty Plea

The accused killer of Ennis Cosby pleaded not guilty in Superior Court on Tuesday to charges of murder and attempted robbery. Meanwhile, attorneys engaged in a dispute over whether grand jury transcripts and other documents in the case should be publicly disclosed.

Defendant Mikail “Michael” Markhasev, 18, did not speak during a brief appearance before Judge John F. Reid.

He stood impassively as his attorneys, deputy alternate public defenders Henry Hall and Harriet Hawkins, entered the plea and agreed with Deputy Dist. Atty. Anne Ingalls to a May 30 pretrial hearing. At that time, prosecutors are expected to announce whether they will seek the death penalty against Markhasev, or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The defendant has been held without bail since his arrest March 12, almost two months after the 27-year-old son of entertainer Bill Cosby was found shot to death alongside his Mercedes-Benz in the Sepulveda Pass in what police described as a bungled robbery.

To date, authorities have publicly declined to detail their evidence in the case and transcripts of the proceedings that led to the grand jury indictment of Markhasev have remained under seal.

By law, transcripts of grand jury deliberations are made public 10 days after the unsealing of an indictment, which occurred on Tuesday.

But Reid, without a hearing, granted a motion last Friday by Markhasev’s attorneys to keep the transcripts sealed. Citing their concern about pretrial publicity, the defense attorneys contended that the order was necessary to protect Markhasev’s right to a fair trial.

The judge had earlier issued a gag order and lawyers for the defense say the release of the grand jury transcripts would prevent them from publicly disputing any allegations found in those transcripts.

Attorney Kelli Sager, representing the Los Angeles Times and CBS, asked Reid on Tuesday to reconsider his order sealing the transcripts, arguing that the court had not made findings that their release would jeopardize Markhasev’s rights.

Sager further asked the judge to release the legal arguments filed by defense attorneys to secure the court order. “It’s hard to conceive that a legal argument would prejudice Mr. Markhasev’s right to a fair trial,” Sager told the judge.

But Reid refused to rescind his order and agreed only to consider the matter in more detail on Friday, with all parties present.

While the district attorney’s office did not formally state a position on the pending motion to release legal arguments in the case, defense attorney Hall said he would fight such a motion “all the way.”

Meantime, Sager told reporters outside the courtroom that she would continue to push for release of court records that, by law, would already have been disclosed without Reid’s order.

“Unfortunately, it appears that some judges are not as well versed or sympathetic to the 1st Amendment as the Constitution requires,” she said.