78
STAR-ADVERTISER
Steven Capobianco: Police gave him no Miranda warnings before his interview about a missing Maui woman, his lawyer says
A man charged with murder in the disappearance of a pregnant Maui woman has asked the court to suppress evidence in his case.
Steven Capobianco’s attorney filed a motion seeking to suppress two statements Capobianco made to police officers investigating the disappearance of Carly "Charli" Scott, The Maui News reported Friday.
He has also asked to suppress any evidence the police obtained as a result of the statements.
Capobianco’s trial had been scheduled to start April 27. But the defendant has agreed to delay trial until after a May 14 court hearing on the motion.
The 25-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder in Scott’s death and third-degree arson of her vehicle.
Scott, 27, was last seen by relatives at her sister’s home in Haiku at 10 p.m. Feb. 9, 2014.
After her mother reported her missing at about 11 p.m. the next day, a police officer went "uninvited and unannounced" to Capobianco’s residence in Haiku at about 6 a.m. Feb. 11, 2014, "and commanded an interview," according to the defense motion.
"This interview elicited potentially incriminating evidence against the defendant," the motion says.
No Miranda warnings were given to Capobianco, who "felt compelled to participate in the interview," according to the motion.
The defense is also seeking to suppress a statement Capobianco made to a police detective who called him the afternoon of Feb. 11, 2014, and asked him to go to the Wailuku Police Station for a second interview. At the time, Capobianco was heading to Hana to help search for Scott and told the detective "that it was impracticable for him to travel to Wailuku," according to the motion.
The motion says the detective was persistent, and Capobianco believed that "he had no choice" in agreeing to meet with the detective at the police station at 8:30 a.m. the next day.
The detective knew but didn’t tell Capobianco that Scott’s dog had been found in the Nahiku area, according to the motion, and didn’t inform Capobianco of his right to remain silent and not incriminate himself.
