By Scott North
Herald Writer
A new trial for an Arlington man accused of murdering his missing wife a dozen years ago was postponed until September after defense attorneys Monday said they want more time to retool their case.
David C. Schubert, 62, was to have gone on trial this week, charged with first-degree murder in the 1989 disappearance of his wife, Juliana, 30. His first trial in December ended with jurors deadlocked 9-3 in favor of convicting him of second-degree murder.
But a new witness has come forward claiming he had a secret, intimate relationship with the missing woman from 1986 to 1989, and that potentially could change the defense strategy for the second trial, said Richard Tassano, one of two public defenders representing Schubert.
Schubert, a former Arlington police officer and insurance broker, has long insisted his wife simply walked away from him and their two sons, then ages 6 and 8. The children told police their mother got into a red car driven by a blond woman and left.
Tassano said discovery of the new witness raises the possibility Juliana Schubert had other people in her life, still undiscovered, who may have helped her leave. He also wants to explore the possibility of bringing in an expert to testify that police and prosecutors botched the investigation by improperly questioning the missing woman’s sons and implanting doubts about what happened to their mother.
"This is new. It is a new defense," Tassano told Judge Ronald Castleberry. "We are entitled to look at it."
Jury screening began Friday for Schubert’s new trial, and the judge made it clear that he was reluctant to stop the case. But he said he also was mindful of what likely would happen on appeal if Schubert were convicted without being given a chance to explore the potential new defense.
Castleberry said he sees a potential "minefield" of legal questions to be resolved if the new defense is offered, and he ordered attorneys on both sides to be ready for a pre-trial hearing in March.
Deputy prosecutor Paul Stern said he was ready for Schubert’s trial now, but he thinks his case will only get better if Schubert tries to bring his sons into the mix. Both, under oath, have given inconsistent statements about what they believe happened to their mother.
"The path has certain legal landmines in it, with evidentiary rulings that need to be resolved, " Stern said. ‘What occurred today is recognition that we need to have a better picture of all the turns and all the twists and all the landmines on that path" before the case goes to the jury.
One unresolved issue is what jurors will be told about the Dec. 2 death of Schubert’s youngest son, Nickolas, 18, Stern said. The teen was found dead in his college dorm room in California as jurors in Snohomish County deliberated his father’s case. No cause has been determined.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431
or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.
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