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Show Trial moving quickly Lafferty; few objections By MAKC HADDOCK The trial of Dan Lafferty for the July 24 murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her daughter Erica in American Fork was progressing more quickly than expected as it moved into its second day Tuesday. The trial is taking place in Judge J. Robert Bullock's Fourth District Courtroom in Provo under tight security. Chief Deputy Utah County Attorney At-torney Wayne Watson, who is prosecuting the case, said the lack of objections and cross-examination by Lafferty, who is defending himself, was speeding up the trial. "It could cut in half the amount of time it will take to complete the trial," Watson said. But Gary Weight, a Provo attorney at-torney assigned to aid Lafferty present his defense as the defendant asks for it, expressed concern about Lafferty's defense strategy, or lack cf it. "He did just fine when we were selecting the jurors," Weight said. "But I have always been suspicious that when it really comes to trying a case, he couldn't put the state to it's burden of proof." Throughout the first day of the trial, Lafferty, dressed in a white shirt and tie, with dark brown pants and vest, sat passively during most of the proceedings. The defendant objected twice to the admission of two items of evidence - one a document purportedly pur-portedly written by his brother, Ron, who has also been charged in the slayings, and the other a pair of photographs taken at the Utah Medical Examiner's office showing Brenda Lafferty's fatal wound. And he only questioned one of the nine witnesses called by the prosecution Monday, asking American Fork Police Officer Terry Fox if two pearl handled straight razors found in a brown suitcase belonging to Lafferty were found in ' shaving kits. Fox said they were not. Lafferty also said he would waive his opening statement until the prosecution had completed presenting its case, and spent most of the afternoon saying, "No" when Judge Bullock asked him if he objected ob-jected to the admission of evidence, and saying little else. Weight said that Lafferty, by refusing to object to the admission of evidence, had permitted the state to admit more items as evidence than it would have been able to with an experienced trial lawyer. "I think about half of the evidence admitted to this point possibly could have been kept out," Weight said. But he also said that Lafferty "is trying this case. He has never sought our help." Watson said he thougnt the trial was going well, and refused to comment on Lafferty's defense strategy. "I am not a judge of anybody's defense," Watson said. "I can't criticize." He said the prosecution was "trying to make sure all of the evidence was properly admitted." He said the state was also trying to see that the evidence introduced did not involve other defendants in the murder charge - namely Ron Lafferty, the defendant's brother, who was to stand trial with Dan this week until an unsuccessful suicide attempt on Dec. 29. A motion was filed by Weight and fellow attorney Mike Esplin to limit information regarding Ron Lafferty that could be introduced to the court proceedings. Ron is now undergoing a psychiatric examination in the Utah State Hospital in Provo to see if he is competent to stand trial, and court officials expressed concern Monday that the publicity from the current trial might make it impossible for the court to find an impartial jury for a later trial involving the same murders. A third of the four men charged in the murders, Ricky Martin Knapp, opened the state's case against Lafferty Monday with some strong testimony, and it is expected that the fourth, Charles Alan Carries, will be the prosecution's final witness. Both men were allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for their testimonies. |