Thursday, Oct. 09, 2008

Benton City teen's murder trial delayed again

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer

The murder trial of a Benton City teen accused of helping kill his mother likely will be delayed again.

Donald Schalchlin, 16, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. He faces a Nov. 3 trial in Benton County Superior Court.

Judge Craig Matheson asked defense attorney Norma Rodriguez on Wednesday if she'd be ready to proceed next month.

"Absolutely not, your honor," Rodriguez replied.

She said she's waiting on test results from the state crime lab, which is analyzing items collected from the crime scene for fingerprints and DNA evidence.

The defense also just received about 500 additional photographs that need to be reviewed and may possibly require her to interview some witnesses again, she said.

Prosecutor Andy Miller said the defense has received everything requested from the state, but he's also waiting on the crime lab to complete the tests.

A new trial date wasn't set Wednesday, but Judge Matheson said a new date will likely be selected when Schalchlin is back in court in two weeks.

Schalchlin is accused of handing two knives to his friend, Joshua Tucker, who then used them to fatally stab Ellen "Lori" Schalchlin in her Ruppert Road home.

The second knife, a meat cleaver, was given to Tucker after the first one broke while he repeatedly stabbed the 41-year-old mother, according to police and court documents.

Donald Schalchlin's 13-year-old sister, Elizabeth, was also stabbed to death by Tucker, just minutes before her mother was killed Dec. 19.

Tucker and Schalchlin left the scene but were quickly caught by sheriff's deputies. Tucker, 17, later implicated Schalchlin as an accomplice to the murders.

Tucker was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and is serving a nearly 41-year prison sentence.