Stabbing death conviction overturned

OLYMPIA – The state Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the murder conviction of a transient accused of stabbing a man to death in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.

In an unanimous ruling, the court ruled that the state violated Darrell Everybodytalksabout’s right to an attorney when he was questioned by a Department of Corrections officer during a presentencing interview in 1997.

The officer, Diane Navicky, used the incriminating statements he made during that interview at a later trial on the case.

“She did not contact Everybodytalksabout’s attorney before conducting the interview, nor did she know if Everybodytalksabout had advance notification of the date of the interview,” said the ruling written by Justice Mary E. Fairhurst.

The court ordered a new trial for Everybodytalksabout that will not include the statements he made to Navicky.

He’s accused of killing Rigel Jones, 23, of Kirkland, in February 1996 during a robbery.