A state judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a Schofield Barracks soldier accused of attempting to kill a Waikiki prostitute after the jury heard improper testimony from a state expert.
Solomon D.M. Battle, 25, is charged with attempted murder for a Dec. 23, 2012, attack on Loretta Mobley in Waikiki.
Earlier this month Battle’s lawyer told the jury in opening statements that Mobley agreed to have sex with the off-duty soldier, then attacked him when she learned that Battle had only $40. The lawyer said Battle stabbed Mobley in self-defense, then continued stabbing her because he has permanent damage to the portion of the brain that controls impulses.
Mobley survived her injuries, which included stab wounds to her face, head, neck, shoulder, chest, abdomen, leg, buttocks and back.
She gave a statement to Honolulu police, but because she is refusing to participate in Battle’s prosecution, Circuit Judge Rom A. Trader ruled before trial that the prosecutor cannot present the statement to jurors.
The U.S. and Hawaii constitutions grant criminal defendants the right to confront the witnesses against them.
Battle’s lawyer had presented the jurors testimony from an expert in support of an insanity defense.
In response, the state presented its own expert.
Trader declared a mistrial after the state expert read portions of Mobley’s statement to the jury.
