By Scott North
Herald Writer
For a dozen years, David Schubert has had little to say about the mysterious 1989 disappearance of his wife.
He continued his silence Wednesday.
Schubert, 62, chose not to testify at his Snohomish County Superior Court murder trial over the disappearance of his wife, Juliana, 30.
His attorneys also opted to rest their case without calling a single witness, even as people they had summonsed to testify, including the Schuberts’ sons, waited outside the courtroom.
The surprise decision was reached about 4 a.m. Wednesday as Schubert’s attorneys were mulling over how the trial had progressed since it began Nov. 20, said Richard Tassano, one of two public defenders representing Schubert.
"We just felt the state hasn’t proven (the first-degree murder charge), so why make it more complicated than it is?" he said.
"I guess we’ll find out tomorrow," deputy prosecutor Paul Stern countered. "We are satisfied with the sufficiency of the evidence."
Prosecutors have been trying to build an entirely circumstantial case that Schubert killed his wife in late June 1989 and hid her body. No trace of the missing woman has ever been found.
Schubert has pleaded innocent and insists his wife simply walked away from their home, leaving behind her car, cash and two sons, who were then ages 6 and 8.
Closing arguments were scheduled for this morning.
Prosecutors have presented testimony Juliana Schubert disappeared as the couple’s nine-year marriage headed toward divorce.
Witnesses have said the missing woman was a devoted mother whose main goal was maintaining custody of her children.
About a month before her disappearance, she had left her job as a secretary in her husband’s insurance company and taken work at an Everett office. She had been looking for an apartment and had visited a divorce attorney.
David Schubert suspected his wife of having an affair with a younger man, one witness said. He also allegedly talked about killing her to get "peace" in his life.
On or about the day she disappeared, a tearful Juliana Schubert said her husband had just threatened to shoot her and the children, another friend testified.
Jurors also have heard about the inconsistent stories Schubert initially told to explain his wife’s disappearance and the efforts detectives have made over the years to find the missing woman.
The defense has been spirited, and largely successful, in limiting prosecutors. For example, on one morning this week, Tassano and fellow public defender Rick Leo raised more than 15 objections. Judge Ronald Castleberry ruled many of them founded.
Prosecutors ensured that jurors learned Schubert in 1996 petitioned to have his wife declared dead. They also read jurors the defendant’s testimony from a 1998 civil case in which Schubert said his missing wife was a good mother.
Jurors were not told that the testimony came from a civil wrongful death lawsuit brought by the missing woman’s mother. That case ended with another jury finding Schubert likely had killed his wife.
The criminal trial presents different legal issues and a requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a much higher standard than the civil case.
Schubert’s attorneys have maintained from the outset there is insufficient evidence.
Detectives have acknowledged they can’t say for sure when or how Juliana Schubert died, only that, in their opinion, all circumstantial evidence points toward murder by her husband.
Missing-body murder cases have led to convictions because jurors are instructed evidence can be direct or circumstantial, and one is not necessarily better than the other.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431 or send e-mail to
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