The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

Released Thursday, 27th March 2025
 1 person rated this episode
The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

The Prison Priest | Chapter 4

Thursday, 27th March 2025
 1 person rated this episode
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

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0:00

Hi everyone, I'm investigative journalist and

0:02

park enthusiast Julia Diambra. And every

0:04

week on my podcast, Park Predators,

0:06

I take you into the heart

0:08

of our world's most stunning locations

0:11

to uncover what sinister crimes have

0:13

unfolded in these serene settings. From

0:15

unsolved murders to chilling disappearances, each

0:17

Tuesday we dive deep into the

0:19

details of cases that will leave

0:21

you knowing sometimes the most beautiful

0:24

places, hide the darkest secrets. Listen

0:26

to park predators now, wherever

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you listen to podcasts. Welcome,

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1:29

The year 1995 has come to an

1:32

end, and as far as the

1:34

Ireland's are concerned, they're

1:36

no closer to getting justice

1:39

for their daughter. After the

1:41

new year, John and Louise

1:43

come back to the island

1:45

with a petition containing thousands

1:47

of signatures. So, police

1:49

take action. In January 1996,

1:52

they send the case to

1:54

prosecutors. despite the fact that

1:56

test results for Frank and

1:58

the Schweitzer brothers and a

2:00

few other potential suspects have

2:03

failed to show any connection

2:05

to Dana's murder. Oh yeah, we

2:07

all said D&A on their side,

2:09

it didn't matter. And by now,

2:11

detectives are tired of

2:13

Frank's countless changing stories,

2:16

but they think he knows too

2:18

many details to have made the

2:20

whole thing up. But there's a

2:22

problem for Frank. Though he expected

2:24

to be treated as a

2:27

witness after implicating the Schweitzer

2:29

brothers, he eventually realizes that

2:32

he's in potentially just as

2:34

much trouble as they are. So, he

2:37

changes his tune. The reason why

2:39

I said that, like I said,

2:41

the detectives really wanted me to

2:43

say, what they wanted me for

2:45

say. And I kind of... I

2:47

feel hurt for the family and

2:49

stuff, but these people... I don't

2:51

know what is the detectives... Throughout

2:54

1996, the Schweitzer brothers are trying

2:56

their best to maintain a normal

2:58

life. Not only have they been

3:00

living the past year. Throughout

3:02

1996, the Schweitzer brothers are

3:04

trying their best to maintain

3:06

a normal life. Not only

3:08

have they been living the

3:10

past year under a police

3:12

microscope, but thanks to Frank's

3:14

confession and his media tour

3:17

frenzy, the public has their

3:19

eyes on them too. And to the

3:21

islanders, these men... were bad news.

3:23

We had wanted dead posters.

3:26

Yeah, put up in Poho

3:28

town. The media, any time

3:30

we went to any little

3:32

thing came up, they ran it

3:34

in the front page. They ran

3:36

it in the front page.

3:38

I bet you go count how

3:41

much time it was in the

3:43

front page. You get about at

3:46

least 100. While the brothers want

3:48

nothing to do with the

3:51

spotlight. Frank wants everyone to

3:53

know his name and his

3:55

story. But his story isn't

3:57

what people are coming to

3:59

believe. They think he's just as

4:01

guilty as the Schweitzer brothers.

4:04

So Frank decides to call

4:06

up the one resource that

4:08

always seems to listen. The

4:10

media. It's time for him to

4:12

clear some things up, but not

4:14

just about his own involvement.

4:16

You know what I mean? I was

4:19

there at the wrong time, and

4:21

I know I was involved. That's

4:23

what I really wanted. Everybody for

4:25

no. Because right now everybody stay

4:27

here, you know, in any bad

4:29

publicity about me. They're making them

4:31

seem like I was involved When

4:34

they're wrong Were you in the

4:36

Volkswagen though with the Schweitzers at

4:38

any point? I was you know

4:40

a Fort Cavalier station wagon and

4:42

the detectives know that too. They

4:45

got verification on that So

4:47

basically as far as your

4:49

Connection within Ireland, what what

4:51

did you see? You saw her on

4:53

the road? What did you see? I

4:55

said again, they made me say a

4:57

lot of things they wanted for here.

4:59

It was mostly all fabrication,

5:02

I would say. I'm Amanda

5:04

Knox, and this is three. Chapter

5:25

Four, The Prison Priest. Frank

5:27

goes on to tell the reporter

5:30

that it's true that he

5:32

was there on Capojo-Kai Drive

5:34

when Dana Ireland was murdered,

5:36

but he wasn't there with the

5:38

Schweitzer brothers. He was there by

5:41

himself smoking crack cocaine. I

5:43

just seen these guys, you know

5:45

what I mean, what they was doing

5:47

and stuff. I never really do nothing.

5:49

I never know who full tell or

5:51

whatful say. I was more afraid for

5:53

myself and for my kids, so I

5:56

never did say anything about it. But

5:58

the thing is where I was. when

6:00

they came in, you know what I mean?

6:02

They dropped, they took the girl out of

6:04

the car and they threw her on the

6:07

ground and they was doing what they did

6:09

to her, you know what I mean, but...

6:11

Who did that? I cannot say the names,

6:13

but not in this moment, but they were

6:16

the one they did it anyway. But you're

6:18

saying it was somebody else, not the

6:20

people that are targeted in the

6:23

grand jury? No. When

6:25

investigators meet with Frank

6:27

at Oahu Prison on July

6:30

6th, 1996, after his public

6:32

recantation, he gives investigators this

6:34

new story and a new

6:37

name. But here's the thing. I

6:39

can walk you through each specific

6:41

detail of each of Frank's

6:43

stories, but that's all they are.

6:46

Stories. Stories that, according

6:48

to Ken Lawson of

6:50

the Hawaii Innocence Project,

6:52

Frank hoped he'd benefit from.

6:54

Remember, you got Mr. Island writing

6:56

U.S. senators, U.S. senators writing over

6:58

here to the governor, you got

7:00

letters from the governor, and so

7:03

you got all these letters from

7:05

high-ranking people asking the big island

7:07

police, and they're probably like, what are

7:09

you guys doing when you're going to

7:11

solve this crime? So it's that type

7:13

of pressure along with the victim's family,

7:16

obviously, but it's that type of pressure.

7:18

It's like, like, you've got to do

7:20

something. Frank wants a benefit or some

7:23

type of money on his books or

7:25

some type of you know package being

7:27

delivered or Visiting with his girlfriend and

7:30

stuff like that. He has to give

7:32

them more information Hey Frank

7:34

you want something you got to tell

7:36

us a little bit more about this

7:39

case. He eventually Walks himself into

7:41

the murder charge right now. This

7:43

is a night. I'm just a

7:45

witness. I don't know what you're

7:47

talking about. I saw this I'm being a

7:49

good inmate Frank Pauline even

7:51

calls Dana's father, John Ireland,

7:53

from prison to tell him,

7:56

quote, I know who really

7:58

killed your daughter. And

8:01

John tells investigators that

8:03

this conversation ended with

8:05

John telling Frank, quote,

8:07

you son of a bitch, I hope you rot

8:09

in jail, as he slammed down the

8:12

phone. Around the same time, while

8:14

Frank is serving a prison

8:16

sentence for another crime, he

8:18

is indicted for first degree

8:20

sexual assault against a minor

8:22

under 14 years old, back

8:25

in 1993. And police are

8:27

still receiving compelling tips. that

8:29

contradict the forensic results. A

8:31

woman even tells them that

8:34

Frank had once bitten her

8:36

in the same location where

8:38

the supposed bite mark was

8:40

found on Dana. All in

8:42

all police are feeling pretty

8:45

good about their chances with

8:47

Frank, but the Ireland's not

8:49

so much. My only purpose here

8:51

is to find the people that

8:54

did this to my daughter and

8:56

have them indicted. It would be

8:58

very difficult to convince the jury

9:00

that this guy is a good

9:02

witness with his background. I would

9:05

like to put enough pressure on

9:07

him over here to get indictments

9:09

in short order. It isn't going

9:11

on too long. We should get

9:14

some kind of answer this time,

9:16

because that's what we're over here

9:18

for. I think the people in

9:20

the state of Hawaii are upset,

9:22

and we're upset, and I'd like

9:24

to see it come to a

9:26

conclusion. A little more than five

9:28

and a half years after the

9:30

murder of Dana Ireland, on

9:32

July 29th, 1997, Frank

9:35

Pauline is indicted and

9:37

charged with second-degree murder,

9:40

first-degree sexual assault,

9:42

and kidnapping. But he's

9:45

not the only one. A couple

9:47

months later, on October 9th,

9:49

1997, Albert Ian Schweitzer

9:51

and Sean Schweitzer are

9:53

indicted on the same

9:55

charges as Frank. All three

9:58

of the men plead not. guilty.

10:00

While Frank has to wait

10:02

it out in prison, Ian

10:04

and Sean's parents do all

10:06

they can to make bail,

10:08

and part of the bail

10:10

agreement is everyone is placed

10:12

under a very strict gag order.

10:15

That was part of our term,

10:17

to get bail the first time,

10:19

is they put a gag order,

10:21

so we couldn't talk to any

10:23

political... We couldn't say we were

10:25

innocent. My mom said that one

10:28

time on the news and they

10:30

tried to put her in jail.

10:32

I've never heard of a fucking

10:34

gang order. I was like, what?

10:36

Isn't that your first amendment, right?

10:38

Is you freedom of speech? Supposed

10:40

to be able to say what

10:43

you defend yourself? You know, you

10:45

got to watch all these newspapers come

10:47

out and you can't even say anything

10:49

to defend yourself. It's like

10:52

that's having a tape on your mouth.

10:54

So they keep their mouths shut. for

10:56

the next six months as they

10:58

prepare for their day in court.

11:00

Ian and Sean's date is set

11:03

for April 6th 1998, while Frank

11:05

is supposed to go on trial

11:07

in January, but that

11:09

gets delayed until July 1998.

11:11

You may be wondering, why the

11:13

separate trials? This happens

11:16

more often than you might

11:18

think, especially when the

11:20

evidence implicating the suspects

11:22

is thin. In my case, My

11:25

boyfriend Raphaeli and I were

11:27

arrested early on after the

11:29

police coerced me into signing

11:31

statements which implicated myself, Raphaeli,

11:33

and my boss. I recanted those

11:36

statements hours later, once the

11:38

brutal police pressure was off.

11:40

And when the forensic evidence

11:42

came back two weeks later, it

11:44

all pointed to a local burglar

11:46

named Rudy Gide. Not a trace

11:48

of me, Raphaeli, or my boss.

11:50

Gadeh even said at first that

11:52

we weren't present at the crime

11:54

scene. But instead of going after

11:57

Gade alone, as they should have,

11:59

the police... doubled down on

12:01

their initial mistake and charged

12:03

all three of us with

12:06

the crime. Gade then changed

12:08

his story and pointed the

12:10

blame at me and Raphaeli.

12:12

If they tried us all

12:15

together, it would have been

12:17

easy for my defense to

12:19

show how all the evidence

12:21

pointed to Gadei as the

12:24

sole killer. So instead, Gadei

12:26

was tried separately and was

12:28

convicted in a fast-track trial

12:30

with no opportunity for my

12:33

defense to cross-examine him. Raffale

12:35

and I were then tried

12:37

together, where prosecutors could take

12:39

Gide's role as a judicial

12:42

fact and build their case

12:44

against us from there. Something

12:46

similar happened with the Schweitzer

12:48

brothers. By trying them separately

12:51

from Frank, it would be

12:53

harder for the Schweitzer's defense

12:55

to cast doubt on Frank,

12:58

the sole witness against them,

13:00

and a potential failure to

13:02

convict Frank wouldn't necessarily tank

13:04

the prosecution's chances of convicting

13:07

them. So the trial dates

13:09

were set and the prosecution

13:11

began preparing its cases. Ian

13:13

and Sean would have to

13:16

prepare as well. So what

13:18

happened is when they first

13:20

brought the indictment, the court

13:22

appointed a set of lawyers

13:25

to represent Ian, Sean and

13:27

Frank Pauline. That's Keith Shigatomi.

13:29

who took over as Sean's

13:31

counsel in March of 1998.

13:34

The court went through great

13:36

legs to make sure that

13:38

the attorneys that were appointed

13:40

were quality attorneys and that

13:43

the court could trust that

13:45

they were going to provide

13:47

good, well not good. I

13:50

mean, superior representation to the

13:52

three of them, then what

13:54

happened was, was the attorneys.

13:56

were selected and then they

13:59

qualified Sean's lawyer who was

14:01

highly regarded. And then we

14:03

want to disqualify some of

14:05

these attorneys. So I think

14:08

they moved to disqualify Frank's

14:10

lawyer who was well regarded

14:12

and then they qualified Sean's

14:14

lawyer who was highly regarded.

14:17

You know, I was a

14:19

lawyer in private practice in

14:21

Honolulu. I've been practicing criminal

14:23

defense for a number of

14:26

years. I had a lot

14:28

of high profile cases and

14:30

the court called me and

14:32

asked me if I would

14:35

consider. But, you know, typically

14:37

when the court points someone,

14:39

they simply will call the

14:41

attorney, ask the attorney, hey,

14:44

are you available? Will you

14:46

accept the case? But in...

14:48

Sean's case before that even

14:51

happened, the court called and

14:53

well, the staff called and

14:55

said, you know, judge would

14:57

like to interview you and

15:00

talk to you before she

15:02

makes a decision on who

15:04

she's actually going to a

15:06

point. It's always better to

15:09

have good lawyers involved because

15:11

there's less mistakes made and

15:13

it saves time and money

15:15

in the future. So, I

15:18

mean, that's kind of how

15:20

that went and the court

15:22

called me in Honolulu and

15:24

asked me to represent Sean

15:27

and so you know that's

15:29

the kind of steps that

15:31

were taken in this case

15:33

which typically doesn't happen because

15:36

I you know the court

15:38

saw the significance and magnitude

15:40

of the case. Then in

15:42

March Sean and Ian's individual

15:45

legal teams receive some shocking

15:47

new information from the Hawaii

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16:28

and in the 25 years I've

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16:44

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17:18

defense team learns that DNA tests

17:21

were done on the seamen found

17:23

on the vaginal swabs and on

17:25

the hospital gurney that brought Dana

17:28

Ireland into the ER. And neither

17:30

Frank, Ian, nor Sean, were a

17:32

match. And so we're talking to

17:34

them and I asked them, well,

17:37

what are you guys going to

17:39

do about this DNA result? And

17:41

they said, you know, there's all

17:44

this, my game's going on. It's

17:46

like, nothing. I said, what do

17:48

you mean nothing? And so I

17:51

told Oscar, well, I guess then

17:53

you won't mind that, uh, I

17:55

said in the most. to dismiss

17:57

and we have the DNA result

18:00

attached to it and all of

18:02

a sudden the prosecutor starts swearing

18:04

you know what the fuck did

18:07

you do that for you know

18:09

what a fuck you know it's

18:11

like well you told me you

18:14

don't care so what's the problem

18:16

I mean that's what I'm doing

18:18

I'm finding a motion to dismiss

18:20

and it's like but just calm

18:23

down you know I said I'm

18:25

willing to call the court and

18:27

say, hey, don't file this motion,

18:30

because there obviously at that point

18:32

nobody, there's no public knowledge of

18:34

it, and so now all of

18:37

a sudden everybody's going to find

18:39

out that the DNA doesn't match.

18:41

And so I said, but you

18:43

know, if you're willing to give

18:46

me something for it, I'll call

18:48

the court and say, don't file

18:50

the motion, just hold on to

18:53

it. What do you want? What

18:55

the case dismissed? It's

18:57

October of 1998 and Ian and

19:00

Sean's trials are about to start

19:02

when a dramatic ruling upends the

19:04

entire case against the Schweitzer brothers.

19:07

And a couple days later they

19:09

came back and they said, okay,

19:11

we'll dismiss. And so that added

19:14

another tremendous twist to the case

19:16

because we go to court, nobody's

19:18

expecting it and all of a

19:21

sudden the state follows this notice

19:23

of dismissal. And now the public's

19:26

even more like, well, the heck

19:28

is going on in this case.

19:30

It's to everyone's surprise that the

19:33

judge grants the request and the

19:35

charges against Ian and Sean are

19:37

dropped. The brothers are free now,

19:40

but in the court of public

19:42

opinion, they are anything but. I

19:44

mean, the public was in an

19:47

outrage at that point because without

19:49

notice, here they are dismissing the

19:51

case and everyone sent ahead, you

19:54

know, these... inept. Prosecutors or police

19:56

are screwing. up again. And so,

19:58

you know, that was a sacrifice

20:01

that or concession that we were

20:03

willing to make because, you know,

20:05

we were built under the impression

20:08

that they're not going to try

20:10

this case again with the DNA

20:12

doesn't match. Now in Frank's situation,

20:15

a little different story because Frank

20:17

says I did this, I did

20:19

that and so you want to

20:22

try Frank, go ahead. But Ian

20:24

and Sean, no way. But

20:27

the door is still open

20:29

for retrial if new evidence

20:32

emerges. And a merge, it

20:34

does. For example, the bite

20:36

mark analysts decides to change

20:38

his initial findings, saying he

20:40

can't exclude Frank Ian or

20:42

Sean as the source of

20:45

the bite mark. It's amazing.

20:47

Even the bite mark, I

20:49

mean, bite mark, isn't even

20:51

a bite mark. bite mark

20:53

evidence is just crazy crazy

20:55

but people believe it bite

20:58

mark evidence is now thoroughly

21:00

debunked as junk science but

21:02

back in 1998 it held

21:04

sway with experts with judges

21:06

and with juries this twist

21:08

with the bite mark evidence

21:11

is a bad sign for

21:13

Ian and Sean but even

21:15

so their defense is not

21:17

convinced that the prosecution can

21:19

make a case out of

21:22

it alone, given the clear

21:24

lack of DNA and physical

21:26

evidence tying the three to

21:28

the murder. But one thing

21:30

I've learned, in a high-profile

21:32

homicide investigation, it's not just

21:35

the freedom of the accused

21:37

on the line, but also

21:39

the reputations and egos of

21:41

prosecutors and law enforcement. Nobody

21:43

likes to be wrong. and

21:45

especially not with so many

21:48

people watching. And so, it's

21:50

no surprise that with egg

21:52

on their face after dropping

21:54

the charges against the Schweitzer

21:56

brothers... the prosecution was willing

21:58

to find whatever scrap of

22:01

evidence they could to prove

22:03

they had been right all

22:05

along. By May of 1999,

22:07

Ian and Sean Schweitzer face

22:09

a renewed indictment for kidnapping,

22:12

sexual assault, and murder. But

22:14

the legal language this time

22:16

includes the phrase with others,

22:18

hinting at the involvement of

22:20

Frank and a potential fourth

22:22

person who Frank alluded to

22:25

Frank alluded to in the

22:27

past. The inclusion of this

22:29

detail in the indictment gives

22:31

prosecutors flexibility when addressing the

22:33

DNA discrepancy before the jury.

22:35

Even though it doesn't match

22:38

any of the three men

22:40

on trial, they can claim

22:42

it belongs to this fourth

22:44

mystery accomplice and that the

22:46

lack of a match doesn't

22:48

prove the innocence of Frank,

22:51

Ian, or Sean. Again, this

22:53

is similar to what happened

22:55

with my case. Though all

22:57

the DNA evidence pointed to

22:59

Rudy Gide, he was convicted

23:02

in his own trial of

23:04

committing the crime with others.

23:06

And that was used to

23:08

implicate me and Raphaeli, and

23:10

excuse the obvious absurdity that

23:12

we'd somehow participated in a

23:15

violent murder without leaving any

23:17

traces of ourselves at the

23:19

scene. But the bite mark

23:21

isn't enough. The prosecution needs

23:23

more. And they find what

23:25

they're looking for. in a

23:28

man named Mike Ortees. Like

23:30

many people at the center

23:32

of this story, Jailhouse informant

23:34

Mike Ortees is only several

23:36

degrees of separation away from

23:38

Sean and Ian Schweitzer, even

23:41

though they've never met him.

23:43

And Mike has plenty to

23:45

gain from implicating the Schweitzer

23:47

brothers, just like John Gonzolves

23:49

and his family. Now keep

23:52

in mind, Gonzales once that

23:54

$25,000. reward money.

23:56

And so you can only get

23:58

if at least to a conviction.

24:00

So remember he gets Frank to

24:03

call in to say, hey man,

24:05

talk about the slices and get

24:07

mom and dad, get mom and

24:10

the family off the cocaine. So

24:12

Frank do it, they get indicted.

24:14

Then the indictment gets dismissed and

24:17

there goes, John's 25 G's. So

24:19

now John's calling her T's. They

24:21

say, hey man, right? So now

24:24

they get indicted again. And you'll

24:26

see the letters in there from

24:28

Gonzales talking about, you know, if

24:31

you can pay the money to

24:33

my aunt or something. Gonzales even

24:35

writes a letter to the Ireland's

24:38

about the reward money, sharing the

24:40

financial, physical, and mental struggles he

24:42

and his family have been through.

24:44

To avoid being accused of acting

24:47

in self-interest, he asks that the

24:49

check be made out to his

24:51

aunt. The Ireland's don't reply, but

24:54

forward the letter to the prosecutor's

24:56

office. But beyond the money, which

24:58

he doesn't get by the way.

25:01

Rumor inside the prison is that

25:03

deals are being handed out left

25:05

and right, and that this particular

25:08

deal is the best deal out

25:10

there. They already came to the

25:12

conclusion in their mind that we're

25:15

going to railroad the Switzer brothers,

25:17

and that's it. And we're going

25:19

to give John Gonzales his immunity

25:22

and his mother the immunity, and

25:24

that's it. And we're going to

25:26

let Mike Ortiz out of jail

25:28

again. So the prosecutors and the

25:31

detectives, they're all right sleeping at

25:33

night with an innocent man dying

25:35

in prison. They're all right with

25:38

that. I don't know why, you

25:40

know, so important for giving this

25:42

guy this deal, especially when they

25:45

came after me and Sean a

25:47

second time. This scenario isn't just

25:49

speculative. Incentivized informants, aka jailhouse snitches.

25:52

are one of the leading causes

25:54

of wrongful convictions. Advocates have repeatedly

25:56

warned against offering incentives to informants,

25:59

since it creates enormous motivation for

26:01

inmates. like Mike Ortiz to give

26:03

false testimony and evidence. Yet such

26:06

incentivized testimony is relied upon in

26:08

court to this day. He's like

26:10

the prison priest, but he just

26:12

happens to wear stripes instead of

26:15

the white collar. Net

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34:29

In a case fraught with

34:31

complexity and emotion, and with

34:34

local and international pressure for

34:36

a conviction, conflicting expert testimonies

34:38

further muddy the waters, leaving

34:40

the jury tasked with unraveling

34:42

the tangled web of evidence.

34:45

The defense opened its case

34:47

with testimony from forensic experts

34:49

from the FBI, who examined

34:51

Harris on a bloody t-shirt

34:54

that prosecutors say belonged to

34:56

Pauline. The FBI also examined

34:58

hairs found on some underwear

35:00

and Ireland socks, comparing them

35:02

with DNA from Ireland, Pauline,

35:05

and the Schweitzers. Therefore, Albert

35:07

Schweitzer, Sean Schweitzer, Louise Ireland,

35:09

including maternal relatives of Louise

35:11

Ireland, Dane Ireland, and Frank

35:13

Pauline Jr. can be eliminated

35:16

as the source of the

35:18

hairs from the Q2 underwear.

35:20

The hair from the Q-12

35:22

t-shirt and the hair from

35:24

the Q-1920 victim's socks. Now

35:27

the jury has yet another

35:29

week's worth of evidence to

35:31

help make a decision was

35:33

Frank Pauline Jr. on that

35:36

secluded trail with Dana Ireland.

35:38

Dana's family are called to

35:40

testify early in the trial,

35:42

offering emotional testimony about Dana

35:44

and the events that happened

35:47

back on Christmas Eve 1991.

35:49

As Sandy's voice chokes up,

35:51

one of the jurors wipes

35:53

away tears from her eyes.

35:55

Dana's mom Louise also takes

35:58

the stand. And I called

36:00

him and I said, a

36:02

watch, broken watch. And I

36:04

knew something really bad had

36:06

happened. I never saw her

36:09

again alive or dead. I

36:11

never saw her again. Dana's

36:13

mom Louise also takes the

36:15

stand. And I called him

36:17

and I said, Joan, you

36:20

better come, Dana, this is

36:22

like, right? came down and

36:24

she died right after that.

36:26

Ida Smith, who says she

36:29

found Dana at the fishing

36:31

trail, is also emotional in

36:33

her testimony. And it wouldn't

36:35

stop. Help me, help me,

36:37

help me, and I think,

36:40

well, the voice was very

36:42

faint, that's why I thought

36:44

it was a little girl.

36:46

I heard the cop crying,

36:48

so I said, I'm coming,

36:51

you know, just where are

36:53

you? I stopped looking. She

36:55

had nothing on her. The

36:57

lineup of witnesses includes three

36:59

different prison inmates. And her

37:02

shirt looked like it, someone

37:04

had grabbed it and tore

37:06

off her like that. So

37:08

I got hold of her

37:11

own, you know, and I

37:13

said, let me help her.

37:15

She said to scream. Okay.

37:17

And I thought, I thought,

37:19

because I didn't want to

37:22

hurt her. The lineup of

37:24

witnesses includes three different prison

37:26

inmates. all with a story

37:28

to tell about how Frank

37:30

had run his mouth in

37:33

prison telling them about his

37:35

involvement in Dana's murder. Shannon

37:37

Thumper Rodriguez was serving two

37:39

life sentences for a double

37:41

murder and Jeffrey Alfonso was

37:44

in on a drug conviction

37:46

and Shane Kobayashi on sexual

37:48

assault. Kobayashi's sentence of up

37:50

to 15 years was reduced

37:53

to three. The same day...

37:55

Members of the Pauline family

37:57

testify. Frank's girlfriend, the mother

37:59

of two of his children,

38:01

Carla Figueroa takes the stand

38:04

and shares that she and

38:06

her grandmother heard Frank confess

38:08

over a 1994 prison phone

38:10

call. And you had seen

38:12

him, had seen him wearing

38:15

that shirt before the Dana

38:17

Arlen. Yes. Did Frank Holly

38:19

tell you he didn't want

38:21

to tell you about the

38:23

Dana Arlen case? Yes. And

38:26

why did you tell you

38:28

that? She goes

38:30

on to recount the moment

38:32

she saw damning evidence on

38:34

television. A large shirt she

38:36

had washed that she knew

38:38

Frank war and was bloody

38:40

was now on the news

38:42

linked to Ireland's death. Multiple

38:44

witnesses would echo her realization.

38:47

To some, like Cliff Hunt,

38:49

the large shirt was obviously

38:51

too small for Frank's stocky

38:53

torso. Ken Lawson agrees. Remember,

38:55

the prosecutor in both trials

38:57

hung his hat on that

38:59

Jimmy Z.T.shirt. This is Frank

39:01

Pauline's T-shirts. You have a

39:03

witness to say that this

39:05

is his Jimmy Z.T.shirt. And

39:07

it's at the scene. It

39:09

has Dana's blood on it.

39:11

You get to see pictures

39:13

on the autopsy. They've got

39:15

to pay for this. And

39:17

so that passion, that anger,

39:19

right, can cloud a factual

39:21

analysis. That was like, I

39:23

think, either a medium. I

39:26

mean, Frank was a huge

39:28

dude, man. It should have

39:30

been like when I was

39:32

older. It was so much

39:34

blood on you. But it

39:36

should have just tried to

39:38

put it on. He probably

39:40

couldn't get it around his

39:42

head, you know what I

39:44

mean? If it don't fit,

39:46

right? But so it's physical

39:48

evidence, like, this guy doesn't

39:50

wear it. That size teacher,

39:52

I mean, a huge guy.

39:54

That wasn't enough. Under cross-examination,

39:56

Charlotte Figueroa says Pauline told

39:58

her he did it to

40:00

help his stepbrother, John Gonzolves.

40:02

Finally, Frank Pauline decides to

40:05

take the stand, still dressed

40:07

in a nice shirt, tie,

40:09

and glasses. My name is

40:11

Frank, Raymond, Pauline Jr. The

40:13

truth is I couldn't remember

40:15

because I was in there.

40:17

So when they came that

40:19

first time, you were really

40:21

ready for him. No, because

40:23

I only knew certain bits

40:25

and pieces from the news

40:27

from what I see on

40:29

TV and from what people

40:31

tell me. Frank admits, I

40:33

am a liar on the

40:35

stand. He says, I figured

40:37

I could at least do

40:39

that for my brother, after

40:41

all the stuff he done

40:44

for me. Love is powerful,

40:46

Cliff. That's all I can

40:48

say. Love is powerful, man.

40:50

In a passing shot furthering

40:52

the family drama of it

40:54

all. Frank Pauline also says

40:56

that he was planning to

40:58

implicate his half-brother, Wayne Gonzales,

41:00

as the fourth participant in

41:02

the killing, which of course

41:04

lined up perfectly with what

41:06

the police and prosecutors had

41:08

been floating to. Having done

41:10

so many not-so-great things already

41:12

in his young life, the

41:14

possibility of Frank convincing the

41:16

jury that this time he

41:18

was a liar was a

41:20

tall mountain to climb. He

41:23

says on the stand I

41:25

may be dumb, but I

41:27

didn't kill anybody. And yet,

41:29

jurors deliberate for roughly 14

41:31

hours, and despite DNA and

41:33

bite mark evidence failing to

41:35

tie Frank to the murder,

41:37

they find Frank Pauline guilty

41:39

of murder in the second

41:41

degree, kidnapping and sexual assault

41:43

in the first degree. Jurors

41:45

say his confession played a

41:47

crucial role in his conviction.

41:49

despite the fact Ian and

41:51

Sean did not confess ahead

41:53

of their trial. With Frank

41:55

now convicted, things aren't looking

41:57

too good for them. Ian's

41:59

trial is next, but he

42:02

and their families struggle to

42:04

find the right defense attorneys.

42:06

So his parents mortgaged your

42:08

house and stuff like that

42:10

and got him a very

42:12

good paid attorney. And so

42:14

what the prosecutor did was

42:16

they gave him the witness

42:18

list and used a lot

42:20

of the attorneys' former clients

42:22

and said they're going to

42:24

be witnesses. They never called

42:26

them, right? So now that

42:28

attorney has to recuse. Well,

42:30

by the time he recuses,

42:32

he's done enough work to

42:34

where he can't return, he's

42:36

not returning to feet. So

42:38

then he's gone to get

42:41

more money, higher, second attorney,

42:43

prosecuted, does it again. I

42:45

can tell you from experience

42:47

that a high-quality defense is

42:49

expensive. Members of my family

42:51

had to take out second

42:53

mortgages and cash out retirement

42:55

accounts to pay for my

42:57

defense. I was fortunate that

42:59

the lawyers my parents found

43:01

were able to stand by

43:03

me for eight years of

43:05

trials. Ian, by contrast, was

43:07

eventually left with no choice

43:09

but to rely on a

43:11

public defender. This was just

43:13

100% malicious, intentional. Intentional. They

43:15

intentionally made sure I ended

43:17

up with the worst attorney

43:20

in the state of Hawaii.

43:22

And how did they do

43:24

that? They put 480 witnesses

43:26

on the witness list. to

43:28

conflict every decent attorney out

43:30

of the state of Hawaii.

43:32

So I ended up with

43:34

an attorney who was sleeping

43:36

under the table during my

43:38

trial. You know, recess. We

43:40

go to the back room.

43:42

This guy goes under the

43:44

table. When they call him,

43:46

I kick him. Hey, let's

43:48

go. It's time. It was

43:50

bad. Yeah. He did nothing.

43:52

Yeah. When we, this first

43:54

started going down, they gave

43:56

me an awesome lawyer. I

43:59

relital. There was nobody on

44:01

that child court fucking a

44:03

term. Yeah, thanks the prosecution's

44:05

meddling, the Schweitzer's case was

44:07

hampered by one of the

44:09

other leading causes of wrongful

44:11

convictions, inadequate defense counsel. The

44:13

Innocence Project cites a 2022

44:15

study from the American Bar

44:17

Association, showing that funding for

44:19

public defenders, quote, would have

44:21

to increase threefold in order

44:23

to meet the standard of

44:25

effective counsel guaranteed by the

44:27

Sixth Amendment. Saddled with a

44:29

poor defense, any defendant is

44:31

more likely to take a

44:33

plea deal, and the prosecution

44:35

knows that. So just before

44:38

the trial, Ian is offered

44:40

a deal, one that is

44:42

tempting compared to a potential

44:44

sentence of life in prison,

44:46

especially after witnessing Frank's fate.

44:48

But Ian resists. Twenty years

44:50

probation. And then I rejected

44:52

it. And then became 10

44:54

years probation. And I told

44:56

him I didn't do it.

44:58

I think most lawyers would

45:00

have said, you know, take

45:02

it. Even the end. The

45:04

10 or 20 years, it's

45:06

like, well, I think I

45:08

can beat this. The problem

45:10

is, when we talk about

45:12

the system, it's just not

45:14

the prosecutors and the police

45:17

are at fault, right? It's

45:19

the lawyer that's supposed to

45:21

be, you know, making sure

45:23

that the police and prosecutors

45:25

are doing their job. And

45:27

if they haven't, then you

45:29

got to bring that the

45:31

light. Ian has no reason

45:33

to agree. He's innocent. I

45:35

would have done the same.

45:37

Of course, we were both

45:39

naive in trusting that the

45:41

justice system would deliver a

45:43

just outcome. In his opening

45:45

statement, prosecutors Lincoln Ashita and

45:47

Charlene Iboshi paint a gruesome

45:49

picture of the attack and

45:51

describe Dana's attempt to fight

45:53

back. While informant Mike Ortiz

45:56

corroborates this, stating that Ian

45:58

witnessed the struggle and said

46:00

that there was blood everywhere.

46:02

Ian's attorney James Bivin argues

46:04

it's improbable. Here's a voiceover

46:06

actor reading some of James

46:08

Bivin's arguments from the trial

46:10

transcripts. John Gonzales sees Frank

46:12

Pauline, Ian Schweitzer, and Sean,

46:14

and this fourth person at

46:16

his mom's house that Christmas

46:18

Eve. He's talking to them.

46:20

He's standing five to six

46:22

feet away from them. He

46:24

sees no blood on Frank

46:26

Pauline's hands, face, arms, body,

46:28

clothes. He sees no blood

46:30

on Ian, no blood on

46:32

Sean. If you believe Michael

46:35

Ortiz's story that Miss Ireland

46:37

bit Frank's hand or arm

46:39

and the blood from Frank

46:41

was going all over the

46:43

place, one would expect to

46:45

find some kind of blood

46:47

or injury on Frank's hand.

46:49

The testimony of the medical

46:51

people, all of the medical

46:53

people in this case, and

46:55

a view of the blood-stained

46:57

blue t-shirt, shows that Miss

46:59

Ireland was bleeding a lot.

47:01

With that much blood, one

47:03

would expect to see blood

47:05

on Frank Pauline's body, hands,

47:07

especially his pants. You would

47:09

also expect to see blood

47:11

in the Volkswagen. The prosecution

47:14

argues that it's obvious that

47:16

the VW Bug was the

47:18

vehicle that matched the treadmarks

47:20

found at the scene, and

47:22

that Ian, Sean and Frank

47:24

were together and using substances

47:26

that day before they decided

47:28

to kidnap, sexually assault, and

47:30

murder Dana Ireland. Ian's attorney

47:32

mentions that the date of

47:34

when Ian purchased the Volkswagen

47:36

is fuzzy. And again, even

47:38

today, Ian swears he didn't

47:40

get that vehicle until after

47:42

the incident. Ian's defense begs

47:44

the jury to look closely

47:46

at the evidence as DNA

47:48

still excludes the three men,

47:50

to think of John's motive

47:53

in his accusations. and he

47:55

calls out inconsistencies in the

47:57

state's claims about how the

47:59

VW supposedly hit the bike.

48:01

the intentional with the folks

48:03

lying, the malicious, like

48:05

so dirty, like they

48:07

knew it wasn't the

48:10

car, the detectives.

48:12

They knew it, like based

48:14

on the length with

48:16

tire tread, you know, of

48:19

the vehicle. But they

48:21

were willing to go along

48:23

with Charlie Naboshi

48:25

and Lincoln Ashita's.

48:29

We tried to connect with Lincoln

48:31

Ashita, but after the DNA

48:33

didn't match, and we'll find whose

48:35

DNA it is, you know what

48:37

I mean? Instead of just not

48:39

coming after us, after the DNA

48:41

didn't match, and we'll find whose

48:43

DNA it is before you come

48:46

after anybody. We tried to connect

48:48

with Lincoln Ashita, but after

48:50

going back and forth via

48:52

email with him, he decided

48:55

he didn't want to go

48:57

on the record. Charleney Bosci

48:59

also did not answer any

49:02

of our contact requests. So

49:04

despite attempts to discredit the

49:07

prosecution's narrative, Ian's attorney, James

49:09

Bivens, appears to be disengaged

49:12

throughout the trial, to say

49:14

the least. Bivens also does

49:17

not present key evidence or

49:19

cross-examined prosecution witnesses, not uncommon

49:22

with overworked public defenders. leaving

49:24

Ian vulnerable and undermined in

49:26

his defense strategy. It was

49:28

our lawyers that found the

49:31

DNA too. Absolutely. Yeah. There was our

49:33

lawyers that found the DNA. He wasn't

49:35

trying to solve it. He never did

49:37

a murder trial. No. But there was

49:39

nobody else because they conflict them all

49:42

out. And so when you look at

49:44

the ineffective assistance to counsel, like I

49:46

said, that that lawyer didn't present the

49:48

evidence, right? The evidence of the tire.

49:51

I mean, the police department took the

49:53

measurements. So right and they have to

49:55

admit these are the measurements we took

49:58

and if you match these measurements up

50:00

with a Volkswagen, there's no match.

50:02

There's no way it could be

50:04

a match, right? That was never

50:07

presented to the jury. Coming up

50:09

on three. They reindited us on

50:11

a jailhouse informant. Yeah. So back

50:14

then, rape, the sex crime had

50:16

a statute of limitations. And so

50:18

at the time that the DNA

50:20

came back and they had dismissed,

50:23

I think it was six months

50:25

left on the statute of limitations

50:27

for them to recharge at the

50:30

rate. So you go back to

50:32

those documents, you'll see that the

50:34

prosecutor is getting desperate. So now

50:37

the indictments are dismissed. Prosecutor is

50:39

calling Sean's lawyer, trying to come

50:41

to the grand jury and tell

50:43

on end. I mean, Sean's lawyer,

50:46

like, there's nothing to tell, right?

50:48

And so finally, Gonzales, John, contacts

50:50

Ortiz. One jailhouse informant is stronger

50:53

than DNA. Mike Ortiz had a

50:55

child who had John Gonzales wife

50:57

in high school. This guy is

50:59

a known jailhouse informant and that's

51:02

the prosecutor's number one man. That's

51:04

next in Chapter 5, which you

51:06

can listen to next week. My

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