By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
SEATTLE — At age 13, there was little on the outside to suggest that Heather Lynn Opel might be a coldblooded killer.
The Evergreen Middle School student had been through a lifetime of abuse and neglect, court documents say. But she did well in school, engaged in activities and excelled in sports.
She exhibited no noticeable violent, aggressive or confrontational behavior, documents say.
That was before she and five other teen-agers were allegedly recruited by her mother to perform a brutal murder — one of six people who planned and executed the murder of Jerry Heimann, 64, of Everett on April 13, 2001, prosecutors say.
A judge decided in November that she was one of three teen-agers involved in the slaying who should stand before an adult court, where a guilty verdict could keep the now 14-year-old girl behind bars for decades.
That assertion is being challenged in the state Court of Appeals, where lawyers argued Friday that there are better services and a greater chance of rehabilitation if she remains in Snohomish County Juvenile Court. There, the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration would have control over her until she turns 21.
Elaine Winters, a lawyer for the Washington Appellate Project, stood before an appeals court commissioner asking that a three-judge panel decide in what court Heather Opel should be tried.
The argument to commissioner William Ellis is only the first step of the process. If the commissioner decides there is merit, Winters will have to return to convince the panel.
On the other side, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor George Appel argued there was evidence that the girl wanted Heimann dead and was a willing participant with a group of friends and her then-17-year-old boyfriend. All the young people allegedly were recruited by Heather’s mother, Barbara Opel.
A lot of the blame centers on the girl herself, as well as the mother, Appel told the commissioner. "Heather Opel had a great deal to do with this."
Even if the appeals panel does nothing now and Heather Opel is convicted in adult court, defense lawyers would still be able to raise the jurisdiction issue at a later appeal.
If the judges take the case, Heather Opel’s trial, now scheduled for June, would be delayed, Winters said.
Winters argued that Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Charles French was wrong when he found there’s a real question whether the girl would "embrace the benefits of rehabilitative therapy and direction" of juvenile authorities.
French said assigning her to juvenile court would put Heather Opel and society at risk.
Winters emphasized that Heather Opel allegedly participated in a murder at the direction of her mother, and French should have taken into account family pressure and the girl’s "unique loyalty to her mother."
Appel noted that a juvenile court probation counselor testified about Heather Opel’s lack of remorse, and whether or not she could be rehabilitated "was speculative." He also argued she was a willing participant in the beating and stabbing death, and wrote in her diary about her intent to kill Heimann.
She was motivated, Appel told the commissioner, by her mother’s promise to buy her a new dirt bike and the prospect of her family being enriched by the victim’s bank account.
Barbara Opel is accused of aggravated first-degree murder. Prosecutors will decide over the summer whether to seek the death penalty for her.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447
or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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