Shasta competent to testify, judge says

Shasta Groene, the key witness in the case against accused killer Joseph Duncan, has been declared competent to testify in his triple-murder trial.

First District Judge Fred Gibler spent 90 minutes interviewing 9-year-old Shasta in his chambers Thursday before announcing she could take the stand.

State law requires judges to make that determination when witnesses are 10 or younger.

Shasta is the sole survivor of the attacks against her family, allegedly committed by Duncan. His trial for the slayings of Shasta’s mother, 13-year-old brother and mother’s fiancé is set to begin Monday with jury selection.

Duncan allegedly kidnapped Shasta, then 8, and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan, from the crime scene. Both children were held captive for weeks at a Montana campsite, where Duncan allegedly molested them both and killed Dylan.

Duncan allegedly showed Shasta a framing hammer and said he used it to kill her family members, according to court records. Her testimony is also expected to place Duncan in the family’s home at the time of the killings.

Though charges have yet to be filed for the kidnappings, Dylan’s slaying and other crimes against the children, Shasta has a federal guardian ad litem, or advocate, Coeur d’Alene attorney John Sahlin. On Thursday, Gibler appointed Sahlin to also serve as Shasta’s advocate in the Kootenai County triple-murder case.

Sahlin’s role is to make recommendations to the court regarding Shasta’s best interest and coordinate the resources and services available to her as a crime victim.

The judge made the appointment over the objection of Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas. “We don’t believe there’s an underlying statute that allows that,” Douglas told the judge.

Gibler responded that in this case, he does believe the girl should have an advocate.

Duncan will be seated about nine feet from the witness stand in the small courtroom in the county’s jail building in north Coeur d’Alene.

Duncan’s attorneys have opposed requests by the prosecution to allow Shasta to testify with a friend by her side. Gibler hasn’t issued a decision on the courtroom configuration or any other special accommodations for Shasta’s testimony.

Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams previously argued that federal case law defines strict parameters limiting child testimony by an alternative means.

“A defendant cannot be deprived of face-to-face confrontation with a child witness” unless the defendant has been charged with sexual abuse of that child, Adams said in a court filing.

Though federal molestation charges are expected, they’ve yet to be filed.

In his motion, Adams said the prosecution only cites Idaho law allowing child victims to testify with special accommodations and ignores case law from the U.S. Supreme Court.