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04/25/2006Trial set to begin in woman's death at resortMark Unger charged with killing his wifeAssociated Press Writer Their marriage crumbling, Mark and Florence Unger left their suburban Detroit home for a weekend trip at a northern Michigan resort with their two young sons. They arrived Oct. 24, 2003. The next morning, Florence Unger's lifeless body was found floating at the shallow edge of Lower Herring Lake. On Wednesday, Mark Unger goes on trial in Benzie County Circuit Court, charged with first-degree murder. Police contend he pushed his 37-year-old wife from a deck to a concrete slab 12 feet below, then dragged her — unconscious but alive — into the water, where she drowned. Mark Unger, 45, of Huntington Woods, has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys say he loved his wife and her death was an accident. Unger has been held in the county jail since his bond was revoked last month. With no eyewitnesses, prosecutors will build their case on circumstantial evidence, including testimony from forensic pathologists, police investigators and friends of Florence Unger — including a man who says he had an affair with her. Donna Pendergast of the state attorney general's office, who is leading the prosecution, declined to discuss the evidence in detail but said she is confident it is enough to prove Unger's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense attorney Robert Harrison said the government's case is weak. "No eyewitnesses, no confession, no fingerprints," Harrison said in an interview. "This is about as flimsy a circumstantial evidence case as I've ever seen." An outline of the prosecution's strategy took shape during an on-again, off-again preliminary hearing that lasted a year. Witnesses testified that Florence Unger had become increasingly concerned about her husband's Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings. He had undergone drug abuse treatment for several months, ending in February 2003. Friends said the relationship deteriorated to the point that they were sleeping in separate bedrooms. Florence Unger decided to get divorced but wanted to stay on good terms with her husband for the sake of their children, while Mark Unger fought the divorce, they said. Glenn Stark, a friend of the couple, testified he and Florence Unger were romantically involved and had an intimate encounter the week before her death. Harrison said the affair couldn't have been a motive for killing Florence because Mark Unger learned of it only after being charged with murder. Another friend said Florence Unger told her the day the family headed north that she and Mark had been "warring all week." The Ungers checked into a cottage at the Watervale Resort, about 40 miles southwest of Traverse City. Police said Mark Unger told them the family had dinner, and afterward he and Florence walked onto a deck atop a boathouse overlooking the lake. Unger said he eventually returned to the house to check on their children and when he returned, his wife was gone. When she didn't come back, he went back to the cottage and fell asleep. Florence Unger was found dead the next morning. Much of the pretrial legal skirmishing focused on Dr. L.J. Dragovic, the Oakland County medical examiner, who supports the prosecution's contention that Florence Unger drowned. The premeditated murder charge is built on the theory that Florence was alive until Mark Unger moved her into the water after her fall. Dr. Stephen Cohle, the Kent County medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, listed the cause of death as head trauma. He acknowledged drowning was a possibility but said it couldn't be proven. Dragovic based his conclusion on a review of Cohle's report and other evidence. District Judge Brent Danielson said Dragovic's testimony lacked a scientific basis and threw it out. Circuit Judge James Batzer, who will preside over the trial, reversed the ruling and said Dragovic could testify. Harrison said the defense would counter with its own forensic pathologist and would present animated scenarios illustrating how Florence Unger could have died accidentally. See Related Stories:
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