Judge has ‘concerns’ about single trial for 2 ‘cold-case’ killings

EVERETT — A judge made clear Wednesday he questions whether prosecutors have enough evidence to properly stage a single trial for a convicted rapist accused of two 1995 “cold-case” killings.

Attorneys for Danny Ross Giles say Snohomish County prosecutors are trying to buttress two weak cases by playing to emotion and presenting them as a matched set. It would be “catastrophic prejudice” for a single jury to decide whether sufficient evidence connects Giles to Patti Berry’s killing and the separate disappearance and presumed death of Tracey Brazzel, public defender Neal Friedman said.

Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss told prosecutors to return to court Thursday morning ready to answer some tough questions.

Based on what he heard during Wednesday’s hearing, the judge said, he wonders whether sufficient evidence — not just theories — show that what happened to Berry and Brazzel are part of the same criminal conduct. That standard must be met for a single trial.

“I have some concerns,” the judge said.

Weiss made his observation as deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson was just beginning to address the defense challenge.

It is true that no eyewitnesses connect Giles to either woman, Matheson told the judge.

“We’ve got better evidence than that. We’ve got DNA,” he said.

Brazzel, 22, was a hair stylist. She disappeared May 27, 1995, after a night that included reported drug trafficking at a pub south of Everett along Highway 99. Berry, 26, had worked as a dancer at Honey’s, a nude nightclub that used to be along Highway 99 north of Lynnwood. She went missing after working a shift on July 31, 1995.

Berry was repeatedly stabbed and her body found dumped in south Everett. No trace of Brazzel has surfaced.

Giles, 46, was not a suspect in either the Berry or Brazzel cases. That changed in 2008.

Using tests that weren’t available in 1995, genetic evidence gathered 19 years ago allegedly was linked to Giles. It was found on the steering wheel of Berry’s blood-spattered car and from a spot on the exterior of Brazzel’s vehicle.

Forensic experts at the state crime lab calculated the statistical probability of a random DNA match to Giles in the Berry case at 1 in 580 million, and 1 in 56 quadrillion in the Brazzel case, according to court papers.

Giles was in prison when the tests were conducted. His criminal record includes the 1987 rape of a woman attacked while she was using a Lynnwood tanning bed, plus a string of other crimes against women and girls.

He was out of prison and living south of Everett in 1995. Confronted with the test results in 2011, Giles denied involvement.

Prosecutors in 2012 charged Giles with two counts of first-degree murder, one each for Berry and Brazzel.

Lawyers on both sides of the case expected a fight over whether the charges should remain connected. They each filed dozens of pages of pleadings prior to Wednesday’s hearing.

Matheson said Giles should go to trial on both charges at the same time because the evidence meets the legal standard. Both women were young, had similar lifestyles, similar looks, and encountered their killer in the same area of the county, at about the same time of day, within two months of each other, he wrote.

Further, detectives believe whoever is responsible used the victims’ cars to transport their bodies to nearby hiding places, and then kept the car keys, perhaps as trophies, the prosecutor wrote.

On Wednesday, Weiss said that some of what prosecutors see as connections — the explanation for the missing car keys, for example — appear to be based on theories. He wants to see supporting evidence.

Friedman told Weiss there are more differences than similarities in the two cases. For example, while it is clear that somebody killed Berry, no evidence demonstrates that Brazzel met with violence, he said.

“They still don’t know what happened to her because there is no crime scene,” Friedman said.

Giles trial is scheduled to begin in late September.

Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.