An attorney for convicted murderer Anastazia M. Schmid said Thursday he did not inform his client of a possible plea deal that could have sent her to jail for a fraction of the time she is now serving.
David Hennessey, who was Schmid's trial-level lawyer in 2002, cited a lack of time to pursue evidence, his confidence in an insanity defense and Schmid's heavily medicated state for possible reasons why he didn't inform the then-29-year-old of the option.
"It just felt so totally disorganized," he said of the six-day trial and its preparation. Hennessey of Indianapolis was hired by Schmid's family less than two months before her trial began. "It was by the seat of your pants."
The admission came during the third and final day of a bench trial before Special Judge Rex Kepner of Benton County in Tippecanoe Circuit Court. The hearing eventually will determine whether Schmid will get a new trial. She's arguing that her actions were the result of battered woman syndrome.
Kepner asked the defense and prosecution to file briefs in the case by the end of June in support of their positions. He will make a decision after reviewing them.
Schmid was found guilty of the March 4, 2001, killing of Tony W. Heathcote, her live-in boyfriend and business partner. Heathcote was stabbed 39 times while blindfolded and tied to a bed.
She is serving a 50-year prison sentence after a Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 jury found her guilty but mentally ill of murder and other felonies in 2002.
During nearly two hours of testimony Thursday, Hennessey said on the second day of the 2002 trial then-Tippecanoe County prosecutor Jerry Bean approached him in the courthouse restroom. Hennessey said he remembered Bean standing at the urinal offering a plea deal for reckless homicide, a Class C felony. A conviction would have come with a recommended sentence of two to eight years.
"I told him I would need to speak with Anastazia," Hennessey said. "I am not sure what happened. It was never communicated to her."
That answer and others during the testimony appeared to catch Kepner off guard.
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"This surprises me, counselor, that you could be sitting next to your client and not told her," he said, adding that Hennessey could have called for a trial recess to discuss the issue.
Hennessey said if he had, Schmid would have only replied with a blank stare because of her high level of medication.
During this exchange, Schmid wiped away tears while seated at the defense table.
Under cross-examination by Special Prosecutor James Fleming, Hennessey was asked if overconfidence in his insanity defense prevented him from sharing the plea.
"Might have been," he replied.
In 2002, three psychiatrists -- two appointed by the court and one hired by the defense -- concluded Schmid was insane at the time of the attack. A fourth, hired by prosecutors, said she was sane.
This week Schmid said she is no longer mentally ill.
Hennessey also cited a lack of time to fully research all the evidence in the case between the time he was hired and when the trial began. Schmid previously had court-appointed attorneys who stayed on during the trial.
To make the point, three boxes of Hennessey's papers for the 2002 trial were wheeled into the courtroom on a dolly.
"I think anyone would have needed more time to give Anastazia a fair trial," Hennessey said.
Kepner asked if Hennessey was now just wishing he had more time.
Schmid's attorney, Michael Troemel, countered that by saying the lack of proper preparation prevented Hennessey from offering a proper defense.
"He was hamstrung in his ability to cross-examine witnesses," he said.
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