Jury selection begins in 1987 murder case

By Steve Sharp of the Daily Times staff
Monday, May 1, 2006 1:02 PM CDT

JEFFERSON - Jury selection began today in preparation for the trial this week of accused Watertown killer Matthew Knapp. Knapp is charged in connection with the 1987 killing of Resa Scobie Brunner after the two had been seen socializing one evening in downtown Watertown.

Knapp, formerly of Watertown, has been incarcerated in the Wisconsin State Prison System and the Jefferson County Jail since 1999 for other offenses, including battery by a prisoner, and he had been in prison prior to that time in the 1990s for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and failure to report to jail. His bail for the alleged killing of Scobie Brunner is set at $1 million.

Jefferson County Branch IV Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick is hearing the Knapp case and his secretary said jury selection was expected to last all day today.

This morning Jefferson County Clerk of Courts Ken Schopen helped organize jury selection.

“At this point,” Schopen said at 11 a.m. today, the selection process, the initial process of the judge asking questions such as whether jurors know anyone connected with the case or whether they have any contact with witnesses, have all been asked. Now the 33 jurors in the box and additional overflow jurors are in the Branch II courtroom and are waiting to see if they are called. The individual voir dire is being conducted in Branch 4.”

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The jury is from Jefferson County and Schopen said the panel was told by the judge they will be sequestered and required to hear the case six days a week, including Saturdays, for what could be two weeks.

Schopen said the case is one of the oldest he has ever been involved in as clerk of courts.

“It's an old case and it's been up to the appeals court a couple times,” he said. “It came back and now we have it for trial. This is probably one of the oldest cases I've ever dealt with. Any criminal case is usually given priority, but they couldn't move any faster than the appeals process.”

In recent years, the Knapp case had risen as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the state Supreme Court to reconsider its initial ruling that a sweatshirt found in Knapp's possession, containing the blood of Scobie Brunner, could not be used as evidence. The court had ruled the shirt was improperly obtained by the Watertown Police Department.

The appeals stemmed from the actions of then-detective Timothy Roets of the Watertown Police Department, who came to arrest Knapp on Dec. 13, 1987, after he learned Knapp had been drinking with Brunner the night before. Her husband, Ervin J. Brunner, had found her lying on their bedroom floor on Dec. 12, 1987, beaten to death with a baseball bat.

Knapp was on parole at the time, which could be revoked for drinking alcohol. Knapp let Roets into his apartment and while Knapp was putting on shoes, Roets asked him where were the clothes Knapp was wearing the night before. Knapp pointed to a pile, which Roets grabbed. He took the garments, along with Knapp, to the police station.

Analysis in 1988 and subsequent DNA testing of blood on a blue sweatshirt in the clothing pile indicated it was Brunner's, the decision stated.

Although Knapp said he didn't want to talk to police or give them a statement on advice of his attorney, Roets questioned Knapp who said he had been with Brunner the night before.

At no time prior to taking the clothing or questioning Knapp did Roets give him the Miranda warning, the decision stated. The decision also stated that failure to exclude the sweatshirt Roets obtained would encourage police to flout Miranda protections when there is an opportunity to grab evidence.

After reconsidering the manner in which the shirt was obtained, the state Supreme Court in 2005 came to the same conclusion that the garment must be excluded from the trial. Prosecutors have said they have other evidence from Knapp that will be useful toward convincing jurors Knapp committed the murder.

Scobie Brunner and her husband Ervin Brunner had been married for six months at the time of her death. The two were experiencing marital problems around the time she went out with Knapp and although Brunner had made a threat against his wife at one point around that time, he is not considered a suspect in the case.

The prosecution also has witnesses who say that Knapp has confessed to them that he killed Scobie Brunner.

The Jefferson County district attorney is trying the case for the state and Bradley Bloch of Waukesha in representing Knapp.