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Austintown murder suspect seeks freedom as sixth trial approaches
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Christopher Anderson
YOUNGSTOWN
For the sixth time, prosecutors will attempt next month to convict Christopher Anderson in the June 3, 2002, strangulation murder of Amber Zurcher in her Austintown apartment.
With Anderson jailed under $500,000 bond, a jury trial is set to begin March 21 before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Anderson’s lawyer, John B. Juhasz, however, has asked Judge Evans to dismiss the murder charge against his client and free him from county jail, where he has been since his Aug. 22, 2002, arrest.
Another trial for Anderson would violate due process requirements and the prohibition against double jeopardy, both contained in the U.S. Constitution, Juhasz argued.
“The state has offered no new evidence linking Anderson to the murder,” Juhasz wrote in a memorandum supporting his motion for dismissal.
“There is simply no reason to believe that another trial will do anything except subject Anderson to expense, harassment and anxiety and result in another hung jury,” Juhasz argued.
Juhasz cited dismissals by other courts after hung-jury mistrials when it appeared the same evidence would be presented in a re-trial and another hung jury was likely.
Dawn P. Cantalamessa and Rebecca L. Doherty, assistant county prosecutors, however, asked Judge Evans to overrule Juhasz’ motion, saying Juhasz “does not cite any controlling case law that requires the state to dismiss after a certain number of trials.”
The prosecutors also argued: “Defendant’s reliance on out-of-state case law is misplaced. There is no statutory or Ohio case law support for defendant’s position.”
Judge Evans has not yet ruled on Juhasz’ motion.
Anderson, 43, of South Main Street, Austintown, was one of several people who attended a party in Zurcher’s Compass West apartment. After everyone else left, Anderson returned and strangled the 22-year-old Zurcher with a cord, prosecutors allege.
“I’m confident of the evidence against him, and I believe we should have another trial,” said Diane Whiteman of Austintown, Zurcher’s mother.
“I believe that anyone else that would lose their child would want justice also.”
Anderson’s first trial in May 2003 was declared a mistrial because of “an unsolicited comment” from a witness.
Anderson’s second trial in November 2003 resulted in a conviction and a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, but the 7th District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in September 2006, citing “cumulative error” in the trial.
A third trial in December 2008 ended with a hung jury, which Doherty said voted 11-1 for conviction.
A fourth attempt in April 2010 ended in a mistrial after a defense lawyer fell asleep in the courtroom during jury selection.
After almost two full days of deliberations, there was a hung jury in the most recent trial in August 2010.
After that jury deadlocked, Doherty said “a significant number of those jurors” expressed a strong belief in Anderson’s guilt and that she favored retrying Anderson.