A Wolf in Suburbia: The Pesce Family Murders Part 3

Part 3 dives into chapters 8, 9, 10, & 11 of the book "A Wolf in Suburbia: The Pesce Family Murders". 

The arrests of John Wolfenbarger and Dennis Lincoln, the Pesce family funeral, the community response, and the beginning of a long trial. 

Transcript

Chapter 8 - Quick Work 

In the late evening of December 23rd, the Livonia Police Department was put on high alert. A ‘be-on-the-lookout’ was issued for John Wolfenbarger and his gray 1988 Plymouth Voyager van. All officers whose patrols were ending would need to work overtime. 

After being informed of Wolfenbarger’s girlfriend, Doreen Beauchamp, a number of officers were instructed to sit and wait near her home on Merriman Road, just south of Seven Mile. 

Just after Midnight on what was now Christmas Eve, 2002, Officer Calleja of the LPD witnessed Wolfenbarger pull into his girlfriend’s driveway. He watched in silence as Wolfenbarger parked the van, exited the vehicle and walked up to Beauchamp’s front door. After a moment she let him inside. 

All officers were instructed to wait and watch. The plan was to pull him over whenever he left again. Ten hours later, it happened. Officer Kalil of the LPD was the first to spot Wolfenbarger as he exited Beauchamp’s home at 10:09 A.M.. He alerted the rest of the nearby squad cars and pulled out in front of Wolfenbarger’s van. They drove through the light at Six Mile as the rest of the surveillance team moved into position. 

At the next stop light, Puritan Street, halfway between Six and Five Mile the light turned red. Before Wolfenbarger had time to realize what was happening. Kalil blocked his escape from the front, Sergeant Donnelly blocked him on the driver’s side and Sergeant Yon boxed the van in from behind. 

Donnelly exited his vehicle, raised his pistol and ordered Wolfenbarger to step out of the vehicle with his hands up. Yon and Kalil were out of their vehicles with guns drawn, covering any of the suspect’s escape routes. 

Wolfenbarger exited the van and layed on the ground as instructed. At this point, three more officers had arrived. Officers Higgins, Ostrowski, and Hess placed handcuffs on the suspect and helped load him into Hess’ police cruiser. A tow truck was called to pick up the Plymouth Voyager and Hess made his way to the police station with a silent Wolfenbarger handcuffed in the back seat.

Once back at the station Officer Hess tagged and bagged the items found on Wolfenbarger at the time of his arrest. 

One pair of gloves, gray and blue in color with rubber grip palms.

One pair of shoes, gray, yellow and green in color.

One knit hat, blue in color.

One Carhartt Coat, brown in color.

One bi-fold wallet, brown in color, containing the following:

ID, phone numbers, miscellaneous cards, and $220. 

Hess signed off on the items and turned them over to Sergeant Siterlet. John Wolfenbarger was escorted to cell number eight in the rear of the cell block. 

The arrest was all about timing for the LPD. Once they had Wolfenbarger in custody, Detective Ronald McPhee was able to execute a search warrant at 12656 Bentler. 

In the late morning hours of December 24th, 2002, McPhee and a team of nearly a dozen officers entered the home that Tracy Letts was renting with her two twin children, Patrick and Jessica. Joining the squad from Livonia were two uniformed Detroit Police Officers.

Detective McPhee’s role was the collector of evidence. Anything found by the officers would be brought to McPhee who would then make a record of it, bag it, and then place it into a property bin.

During the course of the search the LPD found the following (the list includes the evidence number assigned):

#29 JVC Camcorder

#30 Duffle Bag

#58 A knotted blue sock containing gems 

#61 Plastic container with coins

#65 Plastic baggie with coins

#66 Pink plastic clipboard

#67 Miscellaneous jewelry in a baggie

#71 Ladle

#72 & #73 Baggies of melted gold

#89 Ladies Rolex watch

#90 Marco Pesce's Tag Heuer watch

#82 Receipt for a Tag Heuer watch purchased at Anthony’s Jewelry 

 The home was photographed from all angles and trash bins were emptied out and photographed. Inside one of the garbage cans they found a receipt from Ace Hardware, and packaging for a blow torch. Inside another they found a small bag of costume jewelry.

Inside Tracy’s BBQ Grill they found the remnants of burned documents and in a nearby pot they noticed burned residue that included a portion of a credit card.  

Back at the Livonia Police Department Detective Keith Schoen brought John Wolfenbarger inside the interview room and began asking questions around 1:00 P.M.. They discussed his background, family history, and schooling before the detective asked him to sign the ‘advice to rights’ form. 

“Why am I being held? What are the charges?” Wolfenbarger asked.

“You’re being held on homicide charges.” The detective replied.

John Wolfenbarger terminated the interview immediately and with that, Detective Schoen escorted him back to cell number eight. 

By 6:30 P.M. that evening Keith Schoen was at home with his family celebrating Christmas Eve when his pager went off. It was Officer O’Leary at the Detective Bureau, it seemed that Wolfenbarger was ready to speak with him now.  

When Schoen arrived back at the police station, jailers brought Wolfenbarger from his cell into the interview room.

“You wanted to speak to me?” Schoen asked.

“Yeah, I did.” 

Wolfenbarger didn’t want to sit through a bunch of questions, he just had one thing to get off of his chest.

“Tracy Letts and her children had no knowledge of any jewelry that may have been recovered from their house.”

“Okay,” the detective took notes as he spoke. He knew that a search warrant had already been executed at the Letts home earlier in the day. “And what can you tell me about this jewelry?” 

“I got it off a white guy in the parking lot of the Copa Lounge the evening of the 21st.” 

According to Wolfenbarger, the man showed him a blue Crown Royal bag, opening the bag just enough for John to see what was inside. He then suckerpunched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground. Wolfenbarger then picked up the Crown Royal bag, entered his van, and left the scene. 

Detective Schoen wasn’t buying what John was trying to sell him. He asked the suspect if he would kindly write down everything he said in a written statement, Wolfenbarger declined and the interview was terminated. 

As Wolfenbarger was led back to his cell for the night, four Livonia Police officers were an hour north in Mt. Morris Township, just outside of Flint, Michigan. Dennis Lincoln had returned home to stay with his mother and younger brother, choosing to lay low for a while. The police had been tipped off as to his location and along with members of the Mt. Morris police department, they watched Lincoln and waited for the right moment to strike. 

The surveillance team watched as he exited the home. He continued to the driveway where he entered the driver’s side door of a black Chevrolet Corsica. They stayed a safe distance behind Lincoln as he pulled into a nearby Amoco station. He exited the vehicle, walked inside, spoke to the cashier for a moment and then returned to the car.

Once Dennis Lincoln was back home, he opened the trunk of the vehicle, removed an object and went back inside. A moment later he returned to the vehicle and appeared to be searching for something on the passenger side when the police officers surrounded him. After following the order to get down on the ground, Livonia Officer McKeon quickly put the suspect in handcuffs without incident.

While a pair of officers loaded Lincoln into their squad car and made their way back south to Livonia, another team stayed behind and waited for a search warrant to be signed off on for the Lincoln family home.

The following day, Christmas day, Detective Ronald McPhee and four other LPD officers entered the Lincoln home and began the execution of a search warrant within the house. 

Not as much was located during this search but they were able to seize a laptop computer, two complete desktop computers, two pairs of boots, and a jacket. None of the computers belonged to the Lincoln family. 

After speaking with Tracy Letts on the 24th, Lieutenant Ben McDermott sent a separate team to the Seven Craft Beer & Wine Shop on Schoolcraft and Evergreen in Detroit. Letts had also made the Livonia Police Department aware of the robbery at the home of her landlord, Ronald Wedge. Sergeant Anthony Cracchiolo led the team to the green onyx dumpster next to the shop. Together they searched the dumpster, removing bags of trash until they found what they’d been sent to find. 

At the very bottom of the dumpster, near the front opening, was a heavy plastic bag. There were actually three bags layered around the objects inside. Sergeant Cracchiolo placed everything into an evidence bag and they returned to the Livonia Police Department. Once there, he and Sergeant Bremenour brought the items to the lab where they laid out the contents in order to tag and photograph the evidence.

#93 Smith & Wesson five-shot snub nose .38 (registered to Marco Pesce)

#94 Davis Industries .380 semi-automatic handgun

#95 Isuzu key, remote and house key

#96 Keyless remote

#97 Single key (black head) - Chrysler key

He also found an empty magazine and three grocery store member fobs from Kroger, Hiller’s and Farmer Jack. 

Between December 23rd and the 27th of 2002, the Livonia Police Department executed ten search warrants, all under the supervision of the officer in charge, Sergeant Thomas Goralski. 

Tracy Letts’ home on Bentler (twice)

Betty Smith’s home on Chapel

Doreen Beauchamp’s home on Merriman in Livonia

Dennis Lincoln’s home near Flint (twice)

William Smith’s home on Bentler

The Copa Lounge on Schoolcraft

Devil’s Diciples Motorcycle Club on Chapel

Steven Phillips’ home on Chapel

Chapter 9 - Nothing Will Be The Same

On the weekend that followed Christmas, exactly one week after the murders of the Pesce family, mourners gathered at the Harry J. Will funeral home on Six Mile Road in Livonia. Family, friends, neighbors and strangers alike packed the parking lot while news vans lined neighboring lots. Out of respect for the family, reporters stayed outside of the funeral home but their presence was undoubtedly felt. 

The children, Carlo, Sabrina and Melissa were laid out in tiny white caskets that contrasted heavily with the dark wood of Marco and Maria’s. To the surprise of some, their mother Diane opted to leave the caskets open during the viewing with visitors noting in some cases that they didn’t even look like themselves. The open caskets made it tougher for the children’s school friends who had come to pay their respects. 

Each of the white caskets held something special to the child inside. Carlo’s contained one of the Harry Potter novels, of which the intelligent young man was a huge fan. Sabrina and Melissa’s each contained their favorite stuffed animal as well as pictures of the girls laughing and playing together. As cousins and classmates filed by, they left notes in the casket as well.  

December 28th and 29th of 2002 were days meant for mourning; the city, however, also rejoiced in the fact that the Livonia Police Department acted so swiftly in apprehending the two individuals considered to have been involved. 

On December 30th the deceased were brought to a massive, non denominational church in neighboring Plymouth. Northridge Church was no stranger to accommodating a large number of people. With seating for over 2,400 people and a parking lot with its own flag waving parking attendants they had handled big turnouts before. On Monday, December 30th they would welcome over 1,000 mourners through their doors and into the church’s great hall. The hall, which was lined with boxes of tissue, also offered containers full of tiny stuffed teddy bears that visitors were allowed to take in remembrance of the family.  

The church had various teams in creative services and guest services acting as one to put together a respectful visitation and service. Some family and friends found the service to be slightly impersonal for a family so rooted in church. The children attended St. Michaels in Livonia, a prominent Catholic school in the area. The choice of a non denominational church outside of the city left some confused. The school however, would provide their own, more private service later in the week. 

Northridge Church’s Reverend Brad Powell spoke to the large crowd but focused on the family themselves.

“As we gather together in remembrance of the five lives that were snatched from us, we are all trying to make sense out of something that does not make sense.”

He continued, “They have left their mark on our lives. In the end whether we live long or short lives, there is no greater earthly tribute than this.”

Before the service ended, a family friend read aloud a poem they had written for the Pesce family.  It was entitled ‘My First Christmas in Heaven’.

“Please love each other as The Father said to do. For I cannot count the blessings or love He has for you. So have a merry Christmas and wipe away that tear. Remember I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.”

The pall bearers carried the coffins to the waiting hearses and the family continued on to Holy Sepulchre, a Catholic cemetery on 10 Mile Road in Southfield. The five family members were entombed, all in a row in the sprawling cemeteries’ main mausoleum.

Early in April of 2015, just days before Easter, I visited the cemetery to pay my respects to the Pesce family. As I drove through the three and a half acres of property, unsure of how I would find the family, a green backhoe loader rambled towards me. The man inside waved and at my request opened his window. Jason, a longtime groundskeeper and gravedigger politely led me to the location of the Pesce family claiming ‘he could never forget where they were’. He had been working at Holy Sepulchre on the 30th and he remembered it well. We talked for a while about an accident that kept him out of work for a few months and his love of true crime; he wished me luck and went back to work. 

The mausoleum, built from marble and adorned in gold was well cared for as were the marble fronts covering each crypt. Someone had been by recently as each of the Peace’s fronts was decorated with Easter themed arrangements. From left to right were the crypts of Marco, Carlo, Melissa, Sabrina and Maria. To the left of Marco was his father, Rocco who had since passed away in 2005. While paying my respects I was caught off guard, despite knowing all of the details, by the short amount of time between the years listed on the three children’s crypts.    

For Cindy Stempin, St. Michael’s school counselor and church organist, the days, weeks and months that followed the murders were some of the busiest and most gut wrenching she would experience in her tenure.

“On Christmas Eve, right before the 5:00 children's mass we received word that the murderers had been found. Sabrina was in our Children's choir, so that appeared to be a relief for the children. The difficulty was that this was constantly in the media and as more gruesome facts were revealed it constantly re-opened the trauma we were trying to heal. Many of our school children attended the funeral. The mother insisted on having open caskets for all, this was especially traumatic for our families.” 

Helping the children come to terms with what happened was difficult for Stempin and the staff at St. Michaels. Students at the school, along with some parents, were in need of help and the staff stepped up to the challenge.

“We had a special service for the family a few weeks later at school liturgy. Carlo's cousin, Stefano, still attended St. Mike's so this was all very difficult for him and his classmates.”

Stefano was the last person besides the defendant or defendants to have spoken to a member of the murdered family. The weight of this incident was heavy for anyone to carry, let alone a child in the sixth grade.

“Stefano's family was the first to go to the Pesce house when they couldn't reach them by phone, and they were supposed to pick them up to go to a Christmas party.” 

Stempin again mentioned the level of detail released by the police, making their job infinitely tougher. 

“We were told by the police that the children were shot in a circle, execution style. The youngest girl, Melissa, who was in the first grade, was shot last. This again offered more trauma for the children and our staff.”

As Christmas break wrapped up for the students and staff, Stempin called in back-up.

“When we returned to school we had a group of trauma counselors I had called in to help.  The response from the children was overwhelming. I had children lined up all the way down the hall to my office. Many were crying, or looked as if they were in shock. We as quickly as possible tried to get the children in groups and kept those that seemed to be most in trauma to speak to individually.”  

The school counselor tried various tactics in helping the students. 

“The main protocol in working with children in crisis is to have them draw pictures, so they can get at the non-verbal portion of the brain where trauma is stored. It was amazing to us how similar the pictures looked. All had images of the family being shot, but this was usually coupled with pictures of this happening to their own family, which was their major fear at the time. I received dozens of calls from parents and children that told me that they were all barricading their rooms at night. Several would put their dressers in front of their doors; beds were moved away from the windows.”

For some children, the trauma lasted for months. Stempin’s own son wouldn’t go down to the basement by himself until years later. 

“Kids couldn't even sleep in their own beds or rooms and were in their parents rooms at night.  Many of the children refused to go anywhere without their parents.”

Stempin said that regular visits to the cemetery helped ease the pain a little, for her family at least. 

In the jewelry world, the murders made a significant impact across the region. Gary Bewersdorf, owner of Benson Diamond Jewelers in neighboring Westland, MI remembers that time period very well. 

“The previous week I was out to lunch with a close friend of mine, Giulio Ledda, who was an acquaintance of Marco.  Since Marco and I were in the same business, Giulio and I were discussing the different safety and security aspects of a stand alone store versus a mall location.” 

Even though the tragedy did not happen at Italia Jewelry, Bewersdorf thought the timing of the discussion was interesting.  

“After the fact we found out that these men had been into our store casing the store.” Jewelers across the region felt the immediate effects of the tragedy. 

“We destroyed our business cards and had them remade without any last names. We had a company discussion on security issues, especially leaving the store.  To be on alert for someone following you and to take different routes home. If you felt someone was following you, drive to the nearest fire or police station. If possible, when you drive into your garage, immediately shut the door behind you.”

The Pesce murders changed the way Bewersdorf even looked at customers as they entered his store.  

“We were very cognizant of anybody walking into the store that was not a regular customer. We reported any suspicious people or incidents to security.” 

He wasn’t alone, as many in the industry began to take the same types of precautions.

Chapter 10 - Leading Up to the Trial

Friday January 3rd, 2003 - Preliminary Hearing in Livonia

Judge Robert Brzezinski served at Livonia’s 16th District Court for 25 years. He was a Livonia resident for 37 years, a graduate of Notre Dame University and University of Michigan Law School. This preliminary trial would be one of the most memorable of his career. 

The Livonia Police Department prepared for a crowd in and around the courthouse on the morning of the 3rd. 

“We've put on extra security for the hearing," Said Livonia Police Chief Peter Kunst.

Inside a packed courtroom, typically reserved for traffic violations and misdemeanors, the hearing began a little after 9:00 A.M..  Judge Brzezinski had arraigned Wolfenbarger and Lincoln the day before and they were being held without bond in the Wayne County Jail.  

The Livonia hearing gave the public their first real glimpse into what exactly happened in the Pesce home on December 21st.

The job of the prosecution team was clear cut. Present enough evidence to the judge who would then determine if there was enough of it to sustain the charges. It wouldn’t be hard, the LPD had been very busy. 

As the day went on, eight witnesses were called to the stand and all were cross examined by Wolfenbarger’s attorney, Richard Cunningham, as well as Lincoln’s, Cornelius Pitts. The prosecuting team was represented by Chief of Special Prosecutions, Douglas Baker, and Attorney Michael J. King. 

The eight witnesses called that day were important to building the prosecution’s case.  Anita Douglas started the morning off, nervously taking the stand at 9:29 A.M.. Douglas was a part time employee that worked for Marco Pesce and was at Italia Jewelry the day of the murders. She answered the phone call from Carlo and was the last person to speak with Marco before his death. 

Next on the stand would be Marco’s brother, Fabrizio. The prosecution portion was quick with their questioning, Lincoln’s lawyer didn’t have any questions for the grieving brother but Wolfenbarger’s lawyer did. 

Cunningham began the cross examination by offering his condolences. His questions all centered around why Fabrizio had his son check the house and why, after being informed of someone laying on the couch, had he not wanted to further investigate. 

“My mom, she had a hearing problem and I thought maybe my brother was in the toilet. Maybe the kids were downstairs playing the pinball machines.” Fabrizio spoke quickly and was visibly shaken. 

Sergeant James Siterlet processed the crime scene at 37534 St. Martins on the day the Pesce family was found deceased. He came to the stand as the third witness of the preliminary hearing. Siterlet explained his process of collecting evidence and the rooms he searched. On the cross examination Richard Cunningham brought up the large boot print found on the closet door that led to the safe in the basement. He attempted to get Siterlet to say exactly how big the print was compared to his client's smaller feet. Siterlet couldn’t recall the exact size of the boot print in evidence. 

John Wolfenbarger’s girlfriend, Doreen Beauchamp was the next witness called to the stand. It was revealed that she met John through her cousin at the Michigan Department of Corrections prison system. She’d known Wolfenbarger for roughly five years. 

A little after 11:00 A.M. the judge called for a short recess, he needed to meet with the counsel for both sides. At 11:24 a.m., court reconvened.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I hate to do this to you but we've got some civilian witnesses that are going to be called now. And the request of the prosecution is, is that they not be photographed, okay. If you're going to take--if somebody in here is going to take notes or anything there's no problem, but no pictures on the next two or three witnesses.” 

A member of the press responded by asking if it was okay to record their voice at least. 

Judge Brzezinksi directed the question to the lead prosecutor, Douglas Baker, 

“I would request, certainly as to one witness, that that not be done.” He responded. 

The next few witnesses would be okay to record, but not the final witness. 

The next two witnesses were Wolfenbarger’s friend, Tracy Letts, and her son, twelve-year-old Patrick Letts.  Tracy was friendly with Wolfenbarger’s mother, Betty Smith. The two lived across the street from one another. She befriended John quickly when he’d been paroled from prison.

On the cross examination of Tracy Letts, Richard Cunningham asked Letts why she didn’t initially tell the police about dumping the gun in the dumpster.  

“I was scared to death Tuesday.” She responded.

“Scared to death of Billy Smith, weren't you?” It was the defense's opinion, thanks to stories from Wolfenbarger, that Billy Smith was the man behind the murders.

“No. I'm not afraid of Billy.

“I see. Wasn't it Billy who told you to tell them-’

‘I didn't see Billy’

“Wasn't it Billy who really gave you the gun to throw in the dumpster?”

“It wasn't. I haven't seen Billy.”

“Didn’t you tell the police you were afraid of him? You told them that in your statement, didn't you?”

“No, I did not.”

“You never told them that?

“Not Billy.”

“You never said that you were afraid--and they never told you that Billy was going to testify-”

Douglas Baker stood from his chair. “Objection, your Honor. That's been

asked and now answered numerous times.”

“Yeah, Mr. Cunningham, you've been beating it to death. One more question and then that's it.” Judge Brzezinski agreed.

During cross examination of Patrick Letts, Lincoln’s attorney, Cornelius Pitts attempted to prove that facts had been planted in the Letts’ children’s minds. He railed the twelve-year-old with repeated questions and accusations, seeking to impeach the child’s testimony. It didn’t work.

“This is a probable cause hearing, Mr. Pitts,” said an annoyed judge. There was no jury to impress with the show that Pitts was putting on.

At 2:23 P.M., the next witness was called to the stand. Cameras were off limits and any audio recorded needed to be run through a voice changing device. 

36-year-old William ‘Billy Wadd’ Smith took the stand, looking every bit the part of a motorcycle gang boss. Prosecutor Baker asked him questions relating to the days before and after the murders. They discussed Smith being taken into custody by the Livonia Police Department on Christmas Eve. The subject of Smith’s probation came up at one point, he was on a lifetime probation for delivery of cocaine in 1988. The defense lawyers each asked questions that implied Smith had only come forward as part of a deal.

The final witness to be called to the stand was Smith’s cousin, Steven Phillips. He was being held by Wayne County based on a warrant that was out for a third habitual drunk driving charge. He was arrested while attempting to bring the gun that John had left under his mat to the Livonia Police Department.

At the end of the hearing, John Wolfenbarger was ordered to stand trial, Dennis Lincoln’s examination was scheduled for the following friday. 

Friday January 17th, 2003 - Arraignment (Detroit)

John Wolfenbarger next appeared, alongside his lawyer, at the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court within the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. Judge Daniel P. Ryan, who would be overseeing the trial, took his seat at the bench. 

“All right. This is Case 03-689, People versus John Wolfenbarger, here for purposes of arraignment on the Information. Appearances for prosecution and defense?”

Douglas Baker was there on behalf of the People. Richard Cunningham, a court ordered attorney, on behalf of Wolfenbarger. 

The accused was being arraigned on a total of nearly 20 various counts. Wolfenbarger chose to stand mute on the charges and his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on each of the counts.  

Judge Ryan set the trial for March 25th, 2003 and allocated two weeks. Next came the motions. 

Tuesday March 4th, 2003 - Motions (Detroit)

The Defendant, John Wolfenbarger was making two motions. One was for a change of venue. The other was for separate trials. 

The prosecution agreed with the defense on the motion for a separation but not of trials, just a separation of juries.  They had a statement from Dennis Lincoln that they intended to offer into evidence. A statement that implicated Wolfenbarger.

The motion for separate juries was granted by Judge Ryan. The motion for separate trials was denied. 

“Because of the fact that there are numerous witnesses who are involved in both cases, I will not be calling those witnesses in two separate matters. I'm going to call them once. To the extent that a jury needs to be excused, they may be excused to the extent that Defendant Lincoln's statement may be utilized in this particular case.” Ryan explained.

As for the motion for change of venue, Cunningham had pieced together a DVD which showed the massive amount of coverage that the Pesce Murders had garnered in the press over the weeks and months since the incident. Wolfenbarger and his lawyer believed that it would be impossible to get a fair trial in Wayne County. 

What hurt Wolfenbarger’s chances at a successful motion was the fact that he, himself, had called a Channel 4 news reporter named Karen Drew. “Mr. Wolfenbarger somewhat makes it a little bit more difficult on his own behalf to have his attorney argue credibly that venue ought to be changed because of news media coverage when he is, in fact, writing letters to members of the news media seeking publicity as it relates to this particular case.” Ryan stated.

Friday March 14th, 2003 - Pre-Trial Motion

Ten days later, the topic turned to whether or not the evidence collected in the Canton break-in of the home belonging to Lenore and Ronald Wedge could be brought into the upcoming trial. The evidence was considered 404 (b) evidence or ‘other act evidence’. 

Judge Ryan permitted the evidence from the Canton incident based upon the briefs, information, and arguments. He believed that there was a legitimate basis for doing so based purely on relevance.

The trial was set to begin in 12 days. 

Chapter 11 - The First Two Days of Trial

Wednesday, March 26th, 2003

As the city of Detroit enjoyed its spring thaw; reporters, family members and potential jurors filed into the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice downtown. The Honorable Daniel P. Ryan exited his chambers and approached the bench. 

Before joining the 3rd Circuit Court in 1998, Ryan oversaw trials at the 17th District Court for four years. A local product, Ryan attended Catholic Central High School and obtained a Bachelors’ Degree in History from the University of Detroit Mercy. From there he went on to the University of Notre Dame Law School and graduated with honors in 1987. In 2000 he graduated from the University of Nevada-Reno with a Masters in Judicial Studies. He would sometime later go back to school and receive his Doctorate. He knew the court system inside and out and was familiar with the attorneys present.

“Douglas Baker on behalf of the People.”

“Good morning, Your Honor. Oronde Patterson representing the People.”

“Good morning, Your Honor. May it please the court, Richard Cunningham on behalf of Mr. Wolfenbarger.” 

The jury selection for the co-defendant, Dennis Lincoln had taken place the day before and Ryan explained to the three attorneys present that, as was the case the prior day, he would be handling a majority of the voir dire. Voir dire, used to determine if jurors are biased and whether they can deal with the issues fairly; typically turned into attorneys for both sides lobbying one way or another to get as many jurors that they felt comfortable with in the jury box. Ryan prepared himself for the onslaught of common juror excuses for why they couldn’t serve. Whether it was sick children, a grandma dying for the third time or strict bosses at work; Ryan had heard it all.

At 11:30am the jurors were led into two separate courtrooms. The main room, 504 and an adjoining room, 510 were filled with 119 potential jurors. Those seated in room 510 listened to the judge via speakers. Judge Ryan spoke as the jurors took their seats.

“Now ladies and gentlemen this is Case 03-689, People versus John Wolfenbarger.”

Ryan introduced the three attorneys and had Richard Cunningham introduce the accused, John Wolfenbarger to the jurors. Ryan then took a moment and directed their attention to the other people seated at the prosecution table. Sergeant Thomas Goralski and Detective Brad Guerrera from the Livonia Police Department stood and introduced themselves followed by a paralegal from the Prosecutor’s Office named Marilyn Lang. 

Ryan addressed both courtrooms as he spoke.

“There’s actually going to be two juries in this case, ladies and gentlemen. You’re going to be asked to be on the Wolfenbarger jury, and there will be another defendant and they’ll be tried at the same time. Ultimately there will be two juries in my courtroom listening to one trial.”

Shortly after the introductions Ryan’s court clerk drew fourteen names at random in order to fill the juror’s box and voir dire began. The judge carefully went through the list of 63 witnesses asking each juror if they knew of them in any way. One potential juror had known the deceased and even attended the family’s funeral; he was later excused. Other jurors made statements regarding possibly knowing witnesses, some with hopes of being excused from the courtroom.

Jurors explained situations involving mother’s having surgery, upcoming funerals and employers that would fire them for missing too many days of work. Ryan retorted by reminding them of their civic duty and the fact that he himself recently had to serve on a jury. No one was exempt although he would take each independent story into consideration. By 1:00pm only two jurors were sent home.

Ryan once again addressed the jurors, “The defendant has pleaded not guilty. He is presumed to be innocent and if at the end of the trial the prosecution hasn’t met their burden of proof, you’re to find the defendant not guilty. Let me tell you a couple of things. One, the defendant doesn’t have to call any witnesses. The burden of proving this case rests with the prosecution. Do you understand that?”

The jurors responded in unison, “Yes.”

“Two, the defendant himself need not testify. He can remain silent and exercise that right and you cannot hold that against him. Do you understand that as well?”

Once again they responded, “Yes.”

As the day went on the judge and attorneys began individual voir dire and by 3:55pm that afternoon only three more jurors were sent home, leaving them with a jury pool of 109. After all potential jurors were sent home for the day Ryan addressed Wolfenbarger’s request for a change of venue. 

“Obviously based upon the limited voir dire of these individuals, we are nowhere near the strong community visceral response that would warrant change of venue as sought by defense counsel previously. Mere exposure to the media, as the standard dictates, is not sufficient for change of venue, nor is it even a basis for disqualification of a juror; as long as they base their decision only on evidence and the testimony.

Ryan continued, addressing Cunningham in particular. 

“The defendant was the one who wrote Karen Drew from WDIV to begin with, so I’m a little bit hard-pressed to argue about media coverage when your very own client is initiating it on his own behalf.”

At roughly 4:00pm that day, court was adjourned. 

Thursday, March 27th, 2003

As the remaining 109 jurors entered the side by side courtrooms Judge Ryan gave the crowd reminders of their duty as possible jurors. He also reminded them that since there was to be, in fact, two juries watching the same trial, they would have to rotate seats. One day the Lincoln jurors would be in the box, the next day it would be the Wolfenbarger jurors.  Assistant Prosecutor Oronde Patterson took the floor and made a statement followed by some brief individual questions. Next it was Wolfenbarger’s attorney Richard Cunningham’s turn.

“The people in the box, have any of you ever heard of Mark Twain? If so, could you raise your hand?”

A majority of hands went up.

“Okay, looks like pretty much everybody. Um, do you think it might be fair to classify Mr. Twain as being maybe the Jay Leno of the late 19th century?”

A juror responded, “Interesting classification.”

“He’s attributed with making the comment that a jury is a bunch of people who get together and decide which side has the best lawyer. What does that mean to you? What do you think he’s trying to say?”

The same juror spoke up again, “Well, he’s trying to say that facts can be obfuscated and people can be confused to the point of making a decision that may not be based on the real facts but on presentation.”

Cunningham nodded in agreement, “Okay, it ain’t about the lawyers right?”

“Right.”

“It’s about the facts of the case; it’s about the evidence that’s presented. I’ll let you in on a secret, something that some of you may have already figured out. I have a tendency to be a crotchety old man. I mean I guarantee that somewhere along this trial I’m going to say or do something that’s going to upset you. It’s my nature. I know me. Can you give me your assurance that not if, but when I do that, you’re not going to hold that against Mr. Wolfenbarger?”

“Yes,” they replied.

“Now, Mr. Baker and Mr. Patterson, I’ve known them a long time. They’re charming people and they’re the good guys right?” A question he expected no answers to.

“You would have a tendency to say, hey, I like those guys so I want to go their way. Would you have that tendency?” The jurors quickly responded no. 

According to various legal dictionaries during the selection of a jury, both parties to the proceeding may challenge prospective jurors for a lack of impartiality, known as a challenge for cause. A party may challenge an unlimited number of prospective jurors for cause. Parties also may exercise a limited number of peremptory challenges. These challenges permit a party to remove a prospective juror without giving a reason for the removal. In the case of the People versus Wolfenbarger, the attorneys were allotted twelve peremptory challenges. 

Cunningham burned through his rather quickly during the course of the afternoon’s voir dire and around 1:00pm, as the jurors were excused for lunch, requested more.

“Your Honor, I have used 11 peremptories. If I had more, I would be executing… I can think of three right now. I am concerned about the fact that if I don’t use my twelfth it might appear to the record that I’m waving that request for additional peremptories, and I’m not. I’ve done this enough times to know that I might use a peremptory to get rid of one person only to have someone who’s 10 times as worse take their place.”  

“That’s noted for the record,” Ryan replied. “Your request for additional peremptories is denied. You have a full hour for lunch; think about who else you want to excuse.”

After recess, individual voir dire continued as the attorneys slowly knocked off more jurors one by one, by 2:00pm they had eliminated 19 more. Shortly after 2:00pm, Cunningham approached the bench again regarding a possible juror who resided in Livonia near where the murders took place. He had one remaining peremptory. 

“I would like to renew my request for additional peremptories.”

“And that will be denied.”

“This juror lives in the community. He encountered police officers, he has heard about the murders. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t rid his mind. My argument is for additional peremptories.”

“Right, I understand that,” Ryan replied. “I’m not going to exclude everybody from Livonia from sitting on this panel just, you know, due to the mere fact that they’re from Livonia. Is this who you’re going to use your last peremptory on?” 

 “Yes your Honor, I feel I have to.”

At 2:35pm the courtroom finally had their 14 jurors. They were excused for a short break while Ryan discussed the matter of Diane Pesce with the attorneys. Typically in a criminal case, witnesses are sequestered until it is their time to take the stand. When it came to Mrs. Pesce however, they had a problem. Under the Victim’s Rights Statute a family member has the right to be in the courtroom for the duration of the trial. Since Diane was to be a witness for both the Defense and the Prosecution, Cunningham felt that having her in the courtroom during the entire trial could possibly affect her testimony.  The court quickly came up with a compromise. 

“Miss Pesce may remain in the courtroom during the opening statement of the prosecutor. At that point she will have to leave the courtroom and will not be permitted back into the courtroom until the point in the trial in which she testifies. After she has testified and been subject to cross-examination she will be permitted to remain in the courtroom all the way through its completion.” 

As the jurors were called back into the courtroom, Assistant Prosecutor Douglas Baker began his opening statements. Recounting what took place during the week of December 21st, 2002, the trial had officially begun. It would be a long time before a decision was reached.