|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
July 8, 2004Defense attorneys challenge expert witness appearanceJudge will rule on Dragovic testimonyByRecord-Eagle staff writer BEULAH - Defense attorneys for Mark Unger stalled an effort by prosecutors to call an expert witness expected to testify that Unger's wife drowned in Lower Herring Lake after she fell from a deck atop a boathouse and landed on a cement slab. That evidence could be critical in the case for prosecutors, who seek to convict Unger of first-degree murder in the death of his 37-year-old wife, Florence Unger. Dr. L. J. Dragovic, Oakland County's medical examiner, was the final scheduled witness for Unger's preliminary examination Wednesday until the hearing resumes Aug. 16 for testimony from the doctor who performed the autopsy. But before Dragovic took the stand, defense attorney Thomas McGuire objected, and argued that a change in Michigan Rules of Evidence that took effect this year requires prosecutors to demonstrate the validity of scientific evidence before it is presented. "It prevents a witness from simply coming in and saying, 'I'm an expert, this is my opinion," McGuire said of the court rule. Assistant Michigan Attorney General Donna Pendergast, whose office took over the case from Benzie County's prosecutor, argued that Dragovic is qualified to give an opinion in the case and that he has testified thousands of times as an expert witness. Pendergast also said the motion took her by surprise and should have been filed prior to this week's hearing. The defense "knows full well the prosecution is not in a position to respond to the case law," Pendergast told 85th District Court Judge Brent Danielson, who after meeting with attorneys in chambers said he would decide the issue in about three weeks. The county's medical examiner, Dr. Matthew Houghton, determined Florence Unger died of severe head trauma. Police said they believe Florence Unger's body was moved from the cement slab below the boathouse into the lake after Unger pushed her from the deck. Witnesses throughout the hearing described the couple's relationship as strained, but the couple lived together - though slept in separate rooms - even after Florence Unger filed for a divorce in August. Prosecutors presented witnesses Tuesday and Wednesday who gave conflicting accounts of what Mark Unger said about the evening he spent with his wife before her body was discovered floating in shallow water in front of the Watervale Resort near Arcadia on Oct. 25. Laurie Glass, a Huntington Woods woman who said she was best friends with Florence Unger, said Mark Unger called her early in the morning the day after the body was discovered and described to her the events of the previous Friday evening - the last day Florence Unger was seen alive. The couple went to the boathouse near their cottage after dark, Glass said Unger told her, and Florence Unger asked her husband to go back to the cottage to check on their 7- and 10-year-old boys, which he said he did before falling asleep while watching a DVD. Glass said Unger told her he awoke about 7:30 a.m. to discover his wife missing. On Wednesday, Benzie County Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Kelley testified Unger told him a different version of events. Unger said the couple went to the boathouse after dark, Kelley testified, but that he returned to the boathouse after checking on the children to discover Florence Unger gone. Kelley said Unger told him he saw a light on at another cottage and assumed his wife was visiting the resort owners.
|
|
