BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A federal judge has declined to throw out charges against a Vermont man facing a second trial for the 2000 killing of a supermarket worker.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford this week denied the defense motion to dismiss charges against Donald Fell, The Burlington Free Press reported (https://bfpne.ws/1VY4qF6 ) Thursday.
In an opinion released this week, Crawford wrote that he found Fell’s indictment satisfied legal requirements and that jurors should decide on some of the challenges.
Lawyers for Fell had said the indictment didn’t show intent, which is vital for the charges to be considered valid.
Vermont has no death penalty, but the 35-year-old Fell is charged under federal law in the beating death of 53-year-old Terry King, of North Clarendon.
Authorities say Fell and accomplice Robert Lee kidnapped King in November 2000 in Rutland, stole her car and drove her to New York state before chasing her through a field and killing her.
He was sentenced to death following a 2005 conviction which was later overturned due to juror misconduct. A second trial is scheduled for February and Fell has pleaded not guilty.
Lee later killed himself in prison.
In court filings this this week, the newspaper said Fell’s lawyers have asked the judge to exempt Fell from the death penalty. They said he suffers from neurodevelopmental disorders similar to currently recognized disorders that would make Fell ineligible for a death sentence.
Fell remains jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
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