Judge will try seating jury again in Hill case

Web posted January 22, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

A judge will try again Monday to seat a jury in the death penalty trial of David Mark Hill. But this time, the court will travel to the Upstate to do it.

Attempts to seat an Aiken County jury failed in October because too many local people knew about the 1996 killings of three social workers in North Augusta or had formed opinions about the case. Circuit Judge Marc Westbrook will try again with residents of York County before bringing the matter back to an Aiken courtroom for trial.

The jury panel will be transported to Aiken County and sequestered in a hotel for the duration of the trial. If the jurors find Mr. Hill guilty, they must remain to decide whether he should die for the crimes.

Judge Westbrook said he plans to work weekends and evenings until the trial is complete.

In the city of York, attorneys will spend next week questioning more than 300 jurors about their background, opinion on the death penalty and whether, by chance, they know anyone from a long list of potential witnesses.

``I would hope we could get a jury in about three days,'' Judge Westbrook said. ``The attorneys disagree. They think we'll get a lot of hardships.''

Already, 83 of 400 original jurors summoned for duty have been excused for hardship reasons, such as those who must care for young children or have illnesses. Others may be excused because they moved out of the county, have criminal records or have reached the age of 65.

Judge Westbrook earlier agreed to postpone the trial until January, allowing time to find a county with similar demographics as Aiken County.

Mr. Hill, 39, will be tried on a capital murder charge. Authorities say he barged into the North Augusta office of the Department of Social Services in fall 1996 and fired a semi-automatic handgun at three caseworkers, killing each of them with a bullet to the head. Police say he was upset because the agency planned to place his 4-year-old paraplegic daughter and twin sons in foster care.

Defense attorneys Robert Harte and Regina Poteat have filed motions making it clear they plan to seek one of two verdicts: not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill.

Soon after Mr. Hill was captured on a railroad track near the DSS office -- where he had suffered a bullet wound in his mouth from an apparent suicide attempt -- 2nd Circuit Solicitor Barbara Morgan announced she would seek the death penalty in the case.

An Aiken County grand jury on April 3, 1997, indicted Mr. Hill on three counts of murder in the deaths of caseworkers Michael Gregory, 30, of Belvedere, and Josie Curry, 33, and James Riddle, 52, both of North Augusta. He was also indicted on three counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and one count each of assault with intent to kill, kidnapping, burglary first-degree and illegally carrying a pistol.

A competency hearing for Mr. Hill will be held before the trial begins. If the judge decides there is evidence that Mr. Hill is not competent to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense, Mr. Hill could be held until he is ruled competent. The trial would be on hold indefinitely.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895 or scbureau@augustachronicle.com.