Ellington murder trial opens

Kootenai County prosecutors Wednesday painted a picture of a Hayden man who had been drinking early in the morning before allegedly killing an Athol woman by running over her with his Chevrolet Blazer on New Year’s Day.

Defense lawyers for Jonathan Wade Ellington made more than 60 objections on the first day of the trial as they claimed the death of 41-year-old Vonette Larsen was accidental.

Ellington is charged with second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery stemming from the Jan. 1 death of Larsen, which occurred after what defense attorneys called a “cat-and-mouse” game between Ellington and Larsen’s daughters, Jovon and Jolene.

The sisters called their parents to the scene of an alleged altercation Jan. 1, which turned into a high-speed pursuit ending in the ramming of their Honda Accord, their father firing shots at the Blazer and Vonette Larsen being run over.

Public Defender Brad Chapman lost a motion to have a mistrial declared, but he persuaded the judge to keep “gruesome” photos of the victim from being admitted into evidence.

“Quite frankly, judge, they’re disrespectful. … This is sensationalism,” Chapman said of the photos, which depict Larsen uncovered on the ground and close-ups of her head wound, which investigators say is how she died.

Deputy Prosecutor Art Verharen argued that the photos of Larsen, taken after a yellow tarp had been removed from her body, were necessary to show what took place.

“Beyond the fact that this is a murder trial,” Verharen said, “the jury is entitled to see the manner in which the victim died.”

Judge John Luster agreed that some photos should be admitted where Larsen was covered but specifically made sure that close-ups of her face and head were not allowed.

“I recognize that in a murder case … there is a certain amount of blood and gore, so to speak, and I think that’s inescapable,” he said.

During opening statements, Deputy Public Defender Anne Taylor questioned prosecution statements that Ellington was completely unprovoked during the incident. Taylor said he was simply trying to flee a situation in which he was blocked in and being fired at with a .44-caliber handgun.

“There’s a time to see something and make your body react to it,” Taylor said. “Knowing that he’s being shot at, Mr. Ellington tried to get out of there. He had no time to perceive and react. … It was a tragic, tragic thing.”

But Verharen said that Ellington ran over Larsen “simply because he was angry” and that he had started drinking after a 6:30 a.m. argument with his girlfriend in which he left their trailer and went to a friend’s home.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys questioned whether two Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department sergeants could prove that the scene where the incident occurred had not been tampered with before law enforcement arrived. Both Brad Maskell and Lisa Carrington agreed they did not know if the scene had been altered prior to law enforcement arrival.

Chapman also argued that an exchange between Verharen and Maskell during questioning Wednesday violated Ellington’s civil rights. Verharen asked Maskell, “So you did not interview him?” when the sergeant arrived at the place the suspect had been arrested, and Maskell replied, “I tried to.”

Under several U.S. and state Supreme Court rulings, jurors are not allowed to receive information about such interviews if a suspect has invoked his right to remain silent. Ellington did invoke his right to remain silent and was placed in the back of a state police vehicle.

Luster decided Maskell’s response was not intentional and that prior mistrial rulings concerned prosecutors who tried to put a negative slant on a suspect’s choice to not talk to police.

Still, Chapman said, jurors got information they shouldn’t have out of the testimony.

“The bell rung by that little exchange remains rung,” he said. “I can’t unring the bell. We are in a legal position where Jon can’t get a fair trial after this.”