Defense attorneys in the Yogurt Shop Murder case expressed a sense of distrust and suspicion Wednesday, over the quality and quantity of evidence submitted by the prosecution.
Michael Scott's defense attorneys submitted numerous motions requesting more disclosures from the Travis County District Attorney's office in sometimes superfluous detail. The requests primarily included further testing and retesting of DNA samples.
"The prosecution doesn't seem to feel comfortable giving it up," Scott's attorney Carlos Garcia said.
In April, new evidence, from a vaginal swab of one of the victims, revealed DNA that didn't match any of the four suspects in the case.
Garcia said the DNA exonerates Scott and the other three suspects.
The prosecution agreed to comply with most of the defense's requests, but presented some opposition to the extent of others, such as weekly or monthly verbal updates as opposed to one final and conclusive DNA report. Judge Mike Lynch found the degree of the request extraneous.
"You guys got more information than almost anybody has in any trial," Lynch said.
The defense also requested information on any undisclosed possible co-conspirators the district attorney might have swept under the rug—details the prosecution suggested do not exist.
The defense asked the district attorney's office to review and produce the criminal history of a list of people, more than half of which, the prosecution said, consisted of police officers.
The defense said it had begun conducting its own private testing to compare to that of the district attorney.
Though the prosecution and defense said they have and will continue to work together to corroborate evidence and point out discrepancies, tensions between the two remain high.
"You guys don't act this way in any other case I've tried with you, why are you acting this way now?" Lynch said.
Slightly vexed, Lynch encouraged them to work together in the "convoluted, complicated" case.
The trial may be set as late as September, allowing the two parties to test, retest, review and disclose evidence. A hearing to set the trial date is scheduled for June 11, but subject to change.
Lynch said the trial for Robert Springsteen, the other suspect in the case, will likely follow Scott's. Though Springsteen was scheduled to attend the pre-trial hearing, he did not appear, due to court procedures.
