Murder defendant won't have to tell where body is
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) - A man charged with murdering a well-known Northwest dog trainer will not be required to say what he did with the body.
Skagit County Superior Court Judge Mike Rickert ruled that requiring 42-year-old Michiel Oakes to do so would violate his right to remain silent.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports prosecutors have argued that if Oakes' claim of self-defense is genuine he is admitting having killed Mark Stover and should have to say where the corpse is.
Dog-trainer-to-the-stars Stover disappeared last October.
Oakes, of Kennewick, is charged with premeditated murder. His lawyers say he intends to claim self-defense at the September trial.
Stover had trained the pets of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Skagit County Superior Court Judge Mike Rickert ruled that requiring 42-year-old Michiel Oakes to do so would violate his right to remain silent.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports prosecutors have argued that if Oakes' claim of self-defense is genuine he is admitting having killed Mark Stover and should have to say where the corpse is.
Dog-trainer-to-the-stars Stover disappeared last October.
Oakes, of Kennewick, is charged with premeditated murder. His lawyers say he intends to claim self-defense at the September trial.
Stover had trained the pets of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
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