Number lower than in recent years in county
February 05,2007
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
Daily News Staff

There are 10 first-degree murder cases pending in Onslow County.

While the number is higher than officials want, the number of defendants awaiting trial is a lot lower than it's been in recent years. There are 24 cases in the entire 4th Prosecutorial District, which also includes Sampson, Duplin and Jones counties.

There were 18 first-degree murder cases pending in Onslow County in 2004, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee.

"Even though it's a significant number, this is less than we have had compared to previous years," Lee said.

While seven of the 10 homicides committed in Onslow County only date back to March 2006, there are three cases awaiting trial that are at least a year old. Two cases are more than three years old.

While prosecutors try to bring a case to trial some time between nine and 18 months after the crime is committed, it doesn't always happen.

"There are various factors involved in trying to dispose of a case," Lee said.

Eben Howard, 33, was indicted in September 2003 and accused of strangling 23-year-old Dave Johnson to death in his Walnut Hill Drive home May 3, 2003. Johnson shared the home with his girlfriend Mary Feehry, who was also Howard's ex-wife.

The two men allegedly started a fight over the former couple's son, who was 7 at the time. Howard is accused of putting Johnson in a fatal choke hold.

While Howard, who is being represented by Jacksonville attorney Ed Bailey, was charged shortly after Johnson's death, his case is on hold.

About three months after his arrest, Howard, who was held in Onslow County jail under no bond, had a hearing and his bond was set at $100,000. He posted bond Aug. 29, 2003, and returned to Massachusetts with his father. Howard was then admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he allegedly tried to strangle a member of the hospital's custodial staff. He was charged with attempted murder in Massachusetts.

Howard is currently in a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts undergoing evaluation and his case still isn't scheduled for trial, Lee said.

Capital cases also often get held up in the court system because defendants who might face the death penalty are represented by two attorneys.

"Many times defense attorneys don't reside in the county where the case occurred," Lee said. "That in itself can create delays because the attorneys appointed are also appointed to other cases. It's not unusual for me to deal with attorneys with pending murder cases in Onslow, Sampson and Wayne counties, plus they have other cases as well."

Carolyn Futrell, 33, of Richlands, was indicted in August 2004 {sic}{May 2004} for the August 2003 death of 7-year-old Kayla Allen. Futrell, who was Allen's guardian at the time of her death, is accused of poisoning the child with the pesticide Atroban. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.

It took authorities nine months to charge Futrell in connection to the death. It is taking even longer to bring the case to trial.

Futrell, who was in jail under no bond, had a hearing in February 2006, and both prosecutors and Wilmington defense attorneys, Kevin Peters and Rick Miller, told Superior Court Judge Russell Lanier that they hoped to bring the case to trial in the fall of 2006. Lanier set Futrell's bond at $200,000.

Futrell made bond about a week later and was released from jail. The case is now set for trial in June.

Lee said that for ethical reasons he couldn't talk specifically about any of the pending cases, but he said completing SBI lab and autopsy reports, coordinating schedules and obtaining the documents necessary to bring a case trial all take time.

Once all the information is gathered, copies are made and given to defense counsel.

"In a recent murder case, we sent out over 2,700 pages of discovery," Lee said.

Once defense counsel receives all the documents, they must begin the work on defending their clients.

"In capital cases, the defense often wants to hire their own experts once they get our discovery," Lee said. "If we have an SBI lab test on fingerprints, they may want to find their own experts to evaluate fingerprints."

John Mitchell, 28, of Sneads Ferry, has been in jail since he was charged in June 2005 with strangling 40-year-old Ann Marie Greene to death with an extension cord in his mobile home on Hill Lane.

Mitchell's bond was set at $500,000 last April; and Lanier, who presided over the hearing, said he would consider looking at Mitchell's case again if his case didn't go to trial in August 2006. Mitchell, who is being represented by Kinston attorney Bill Gerrans, remains in jail, but his case is expected to go to trial in April.

Technological advancements in crime analysis along with a backlog in the SBI lab all play a role in delaying cases.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson, who has worked in the District Attorney's office for 29 years, remembers a time when he was able to prosecute multiple murder cases in a six-month period. Those days seem to be over, he said.

"It is so much more difficult with the increase in technology. That helps prove guilt and innocence, but that comes with a price," he said. "With all that technology, everybody on every case wants to do a DNA test. Sometimes it takes a year to get reports back."

The District Attorney's office "aggressively" pursues its murder cases, Lee said. Delays are difficult on the family members of victims. They are also not fair to defendants who aren't guilty of the crimes they've been charged with.

"Justice delayed is justice denied for both the victims and the defendants," Hudson said. "... Some horrible cases drag on and on.

It's excruciating to the victim's family and obviously we want to dispose of the case as quickly as we can."

Contact staff writer Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 238.