BEFORE THE TRIALS
By Casey Grove

Police arrested four suspects after John Hartman’s beaten body was discovered on a street corner in Fairbanks on October 11, 1997: George Frese, 20; Kevin Pease, 18; Marvin Roberts, 19; and Eugene Vent, 17. Officers interviewed the four at length before arresting them. No other suspects were sought during the course of the investigation.

The four were first arrested for attempted murder, but the charges were upgraded to first degree murder and sexual assault after Hartman died in the hospital at 6:37 p.m. on Oct. 12. When police found evidence that a robbery had occurred, combined charges of first degree murder and robbery were also added.

Pleas of Innocence

All four pleaded not guilty during the arraignment hearing. They were led into Fairbanks Superior Court linked by chain restraints secured around their waists and connected to their handcuffed wrists. They were held at Fairbanks Correctional Center on $1 million bail each, facing sentences of between 20 and 99 years.

The Indictment Battle

After a grand jury indicted the accused men, their defense attorneys went to work trying to get the indictments thrown out. Lori Bodwell, representing Kevin Pease, accused Fairbanks District Attorney Harry Davis of being one-sided when he presented information to the grand jury to obtain the indictments.

Davis had given the impression that Eugene Vent and George Frese had confessed, but Bodwell said that Davis failed to mention to the grand jury that Vent and Frese were both very drunk during the questioning.

Fairbanks attorney Dick Madson, calling the state’s case “extremely weak,” also sought a dismissal for his client, Marvin Roberts, because he said police ignored witnesses who could have provided an alibi for Roberts.

As a result of the lack of exculpatory evidence (that which would negate an individual’s guilt) presented at the grand jury trial, Judge Sigurd Murphy threw out the indictments against three of the accused murderers. The indictment against George Frese was not thrown out, but a key piece of evidence was suppressed: his police interview.

A Controversial Confession

Frese’s attorney, Bob Downes, accused police of changing a transcript of police questioning in an attempt to cover up a violation of his Miranda rights. Frese, who had not yet been arrested, had arguably implicated himself and the others during questioning that occurred after he had asked to leave the interview. The request had come just as Fairbanks police inspector Aaron Ring was leaving the interrogation room.

Downes said in court that police manipulated the transcripts of the interview to appear as though Ring had left the room and could not have heard Frese asking to go home. By federal law, once a suspect is restricted from leaving, he may be considered in police custody and must be informed of his right to consult an attorney.

After seeing the room--even inspecting the hinges on the door--Judge Murphy suppressed all of the statements Frese had made following the detectives’ exit.

The prosecution would later appeal his decisions, but the Alaska Appeals Court and the Alaska Supreme Court both upheld his decision to suppress the statement by Frese.

The indictments against the other three suspects were reinstated by the court of appeals.

Based in part on Fairbanks Daily News-Miner coverage of the Hartman case as it unfolded.

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