Defendant says stabbing death was self defense

Erin Niemeyer

Friday, July 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

William Bletcher testified that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed a man he claims attempted to choke him during an altercation in 1992.

Bletcher, charged with second-degree murder, said he was attacked by 30-year-old Charles Rausch, who was trying to repossess a company vehicle and pager from a friend of Bletcher.

Bletcher testified Thursday that Rausch initiated the confrontation at 901 Brush St. on Dec. 23, 1992. According to Bletcher, he did not strike Rausch from behind. He claims Rausch threw the first punch. Bletcher said he was able to "occasionally get one in."

Deputy District Attorney David Barker said Bletcher's testimony contradicts his previous testimony in 1993.

A jury found Bletcher guilty of second-degree murder in 1993, but the state Supreme Court overturned the verdict and gave Bletcher a new trial.

The high court said District Judge Myron Leavitt should not have allowed prosecution evidence to be presented about drug use prior to the stabbing because it was not connected to the killing. Presenting this drug evidence to the jury was "extremely prejudicial," the high court ruled.

Barker maintains Bletcher did not tell the jury in 1993 that he had hit Rausch during the confrontation. "(Bletcher) said (in 1993), 'It went down so fast' and 'all I could do was just hold up my hands.'"

Shanna Kerekes, Rausch's fiance, said Bletcher is being untruthful.

Kerekes, 22, maintains that Bletcher struck Rausch from behind before stabbing him four times.

Other testimony given by Bletcher in 1993 contradicts his current account of the events that unfolded on Dec. 23, 1992, Barker said.

Bletcher, 34, testified on Thursday that he demonstrated concern for Rausch after he stabbed him. Bletcher also said that he attempted to assist Rausch. This was not mentioned during the 1993 trial, Barker said.

Kerekes told jurors Thursday that Bletcher did not assist Rausch in any way. "That parking lot was never more empty," she said.

Barker questioned Bletcher about the knife with which he admits stabbing Rausch, who was weaponless. Bletcher drew a sketch of the knife for the jury. He said the knife is a work tool and "I always had it with me."

Bletcher said he "ditched" the knife after leaving the crime scene moments after Rausch was stabbed.

Bletcher said Thursday that he didn't know the extent of Rausch's injuries when he stabbed him because he couldn't feel the knife penetrate Rausch's skin. Bletcher said stabbing Rausch "felt like air."

Bletcher confirmed testimony given Thursday by prosecution witness Sheila Abbott.

Abbott testified that Bletcher asked her to lie about his presence when detectives phoned his apartment the night of the killing. Bletcher "was scared and nervous" and "just said he needed to get some stuff together and get out of here," Abbott said.

Abbott said Bletcher told her that Rausch attacked him from behind and tried to choke him. Bletcher had no visible marks on his body, she said.

A defense witness, Enrico Brandise, testified that he saw Bletcher at a mutual friend's house after the stabbing. Their encounter "was pretty much business as usual," said Brandise, adding that Bletcher told him he had been in a fight "and was losing badly."

Bletcher's attorney, Ulrich Smith, said he's confident the jury will find his client not guilty.

"(Bletcher's) testimony was entirely consistent with what he previously testified and to what he's maintained all along," Smith said.

Barker disagrees. "The state is confident that justice will be served ... and that the defendant will be convicted of murder, as he was in 1993."