http://www.vnews.com/05092011/7797085.htm
Published 5/9/2011
Murder Trial Set to Begin Today
By Mark Davis
Valley News Staff Writer
White River Junction -- Kyle Bolaski and Vincent Tamburello never met. They never had a conversation. They may never have exchanged even a single word.
They arrived at a softball field in Chester on a summer afternoon in July 2008 as strangers on different sides of a confrontation between two rival groups of young men. Much of what transpired next is in dispute, as witnesses, some under influence of alcohol and many with strong allegiances to either the victim or the accused, have given conflicting statements.
But this much is clear: Bolaski killed Tamburello with two blasts from his hunting rifle.
From the minute police arrived at the field that day, Bolaski claimed self-defense against the ax-wielding, Tamburello. Prosecutors disagreed, however, and said that the second, fatal shot came after Tamburello, 32, who was initially hit in the leg, was no longer a threat.
This morning, nearly three years later, jurors in Windsor Superior Court will hear opening arguments in a second-degree murder trial that will largely center on the thoughts running through Bolaski's head in the few seconds it took to fire two rounds.
Both the prosecutor, John Lavoie, and defense attorney Kevin Griffin declined to comment for this story.
Bolaski, 27, of Springfield, has been free on bail since shortly after the incident,
Court documents, recent pre-trial hearings and last week's jury selection provide a window to the issues that could arise during the trial, which is scheduled to last two weeks.
The defense is expected to argue self-defense, a claim that would force jurors to delve into legal nuance.
Legally in Vermont, to justify the use of deadly force, a person must have “reasonably believed” there was imminent danger of being killed or seriously injured to justify the use of deadly force. In such circumstances, an individual does not have a legal obligation to retreat from an attacker.
The burden will be on Lavoie to show that Bolaski was not acting in self-defense.
According to court document, Tamburello, who had recently moved to Vermont from the Boston area, stepped out of his car at Mackenzie Field with an ax, ran to Bolaski's pick-up truck and stuck it several times.
Bolaski then grabbed a .30-06-caliber hunting rifle from the cab of his truck and shot Tamburello in the left leg. Bolaski quickly fired a second, fatal shot.
One piece of forensic evidence could cast doubt on whether Bolaski was in immediate danger from Tamburello: The Vermont Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the fatal shot hit Tamburello in the back. The office also found that Tamburello's left eye socket was fractured, and two witnesses told police that Bolaski struck Tamburello in the head with the butt of his rifle while Tamburello was on the ground bleeding.
Jurors could convict Bolaski of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. They could find that he acted in self-defense, and acquit him. Or, they could find that the shooting was not lawful, but occurred under a heightened emotional state -- in legal terms, “sudden passion or great provocation” --and convict him of manslaughter, which carries a potential 15-year sentence.
It is unclear if Bolaski will testify, but defendants in self-defense cases often do, said Vermont Law School professor Michele Martinez Campbell, a former federal prosecutor.
“As defense counsel, your best bet for establishing self-defense is to put the defendant on the stand and have him tell his side of the story,” Martinez Campbell said.
Many of the others who were at the field that day also are expected to testify: During last week's jury selection, Griffin told potential jurors they would have to sort through conflicting accounts and decide which witnesses were telling the truth and which were “lying.”
And there will be an array of physical evidence: Lavoie told potential jurors that they would hear from blood and ballistics experts. But he indicated that evidence would not prove conclusive.
Lavoie asked potential jurors if they watched the popular television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which features forensic experts who seemingly solve every crime with 100 percent certainty.
Several prospective jurors quickly told Lavoie they watched the show.
“Do you know how much prosecutors hate that?” he said.
The so called “CSI effect” is well documented. As a result of the popularity of the show and others like it, lawyers say, many jurors have come to expect that investigators should be able to provide irrefutable scientific proof of a defendants' guilt. Lavoie told the prospective juror that forensic experts would be able to provide only limited information.
Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand filed a murder charge in the days after the shooting, but eventually dropped the charge, citing a lack of evidence, and pursued lesser felonies. That decision enraged Tamburello's relatives, who launched a campaign to have Sand taken off the case. It was successful. Sand voluntarily passed the case to Lavoie, a deputy Franklin County prosecutor, who promptly reinstated the murder charge.
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