KELSO — A southwest Washington mother and two teenagers jailed for more than 24 hours after refusing to testify in a domestic assault case have agreed to take the stand.
They are the prosecution’s key witnesses in the trial that began Tuesday for 36-year-old Joel Darvell of Castle Rock. He’s accused of choking his wife, pistol whipping his 17-year-old son and firing a gunshot into a wall on April 27. The trial halted when his 34-year-old wife, their son and their 13-year-old daughter failed to show up.
The Daily News reported that when the three did come to court, they refused to testify and Superior Court Judge Michael Evans held them in contempt. They were jailed Wednesday.
The jury pool was dismissed and the case rescheduled for next week. Darvell posted bail.
Lawyers representing the three said it was unclear exactly why they initially refused to testify.
The U.S. Constitution usually protects spouses from having to testify against each other, but John Hays, the mother’s lawyer, says an exception is made when one of their children is a crime victim.
———
Information from: The Daily News, http://www.tdn.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
