Thill Murder Trial Moved to Pueblo
By Howard Pankratz Denver Post Legal Affairs Writer
Sept. 16 - A Denver judge Thursday ordered the murder trial of white supremacist Nathan Thill moved to Pueblo citing what he called a "pattern of deep and bitter prejudice'' against Thill in Denver.
District Judge Jeff Bayless directed that the 21-year-old Thill make an initial appearance in Pueblo District Court Sept. 23, when the new trial date will be set.
Bayless said Thill should be returned to Denver immediately after the hearing where he will be confined until just before the trial begins in the southern Colorado city.
Thill is accused of murdering West African immigrant Oumar Dia and critically wounding bystander Jeannie VanVelkinburgh in what authorities claim was a hate-inspired crime. The shootings occurred at a Downtown Denver bus stop on Nov. 18, 1997.
Bayless decided to move the trial after finding that more than 90 percent of the prospective jurors in Denver were both generally aware of the case and "also (had) particular and unique knowledge of the facts of the case.'' Additionally, Bayless said approximately half the jurors admitted that they believed Thill was guilty based on the publicity they had seen.
Also, Bayless had been told that a number of the potential jurors were talking about the Thill case in direct violation of his order that the case not be discussed. Some knew that Jeremiah Barnum, Thill's co-defendant, had been tried earlier and his conviction thrown out.
Former Denver prosecutor Bill Buckley and Denver defense lawyer Dan Recht said Thursday that Bayless did the right thing in moving the trial from Denver.
"I think they'd have a much better chance of selecting an impartial jury in Pueblo,'' said Buckley, who spent years in the Denver district attorney's office.
Buckley who practiced along side Bayless (a former prosecutor) in the district attorney's office, said he believed a change of venue was necessary.
"Bayless is very bright and knows when there are potential problems,'' said Buckley. "When you have a second defendant going to trial shortly after the first defendant, you have serious built-in problems. It didn't surprise me at all that he (Bayless) had problems finding people who didn't know much about the case.''
Recht said that he expects that jury selection in Pueblo will be smoother than in Denver because there was less publicity about the case in Pueblo.
"I think when you have a high publicity case and the co-defendant already has been tried, you have increased problems with publicity and impartial jurors,'' said Recht. "It clearly should not take any longer (to select a jury) down there, and jury selection should take less time. I'm confident it will go faster.''
Recht said that moving the case to Pueblo should not present significant problems to either the prosecution or defense. He said that prosecutors, who will be calling the bulk of the witnesses, are particularly able to handle such moves.
"I don't think it creates that much of a problem because prosecutors are used to it. They fly in witnesses from out of state all the time,'' said Recht. "They are used to doing these things and they are equipped to do these things. I don't see it creating big problems.''
Buckley and Recht said it made sense that Thill be kept in Denver. His lawyers will be in Denver and it is critical that they have access to Thill, particularly because Thill could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in Dia's death.
In ordering the trial to Pueblo, Bayless said Thursday that in 1981 in the case of Grand Junction murder defendant Kenneth Botham, the Colorado Supreme Court stressed that "the constitutional right to a trial by a panel of impartial jurors must be honored.''
Bayless said the Botham decision suggested various alternative methods for ensuring the impaneling of an impartial jury. In trying to seat a jury in the Thill case, Bayless said he followed the recommendation that there be extensive questioning of prospective jury members.
Bayless said he called a large jury panel, had them fill out an extensive 11-page questionnaire and that each of the potential jurors under went a lengthy individual examination.
"The Botham case indicates that when there is "a pattern of deep and bitter prejudice throughout the community where the defendant is to be tried, a juror's assurance that he will be fair and impartial is not conclusive'. Such a pattern has been demonstrated in this case by the questionnaires and the individual voir dire,'' said Bayless.
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