Missing Evidence Surfaces in Anna Mae Aquash Murder Case

"A Jan. 21 letter from Denver Police Commander of Major Crimes Jonathyn Priest to Robert Mandel, assistant U.S. attorney in Rapid City, revealed the Jan. 11 discovery of the 'Aquash' box and outlined some of the missing evidence, court documents show."--Native American Times (2-17-10) [See also News from Indian Country (2-17-2010)]

Evidence relating to the 1975 murder of the Canadian Indian Anna Mae Aquash (above), reportedly executed on the orders of the leadership of the American Indian Movement (AIM), has been found in the basement of the Denver police Department.

The box reportedly contains about 800 pages of documents and about 20 tape recordings.

One of those recordings is reportedly an interview between Denver investigator Abe Alonzo and two government witnesses. One of those witnesses will reportedly testify against Marshall.

The Native American Times (2-17-10) reports:

Thirty-four years after Annie Mae Aquash’s frozen body was found on a South Dakota Indian reservation, the federal case against a man accused of assisting in her killing has been further delayed due to the discovery of a box of evidence in the basement of the Denver Police Department.

The attorney for Richard Marshall says the collection of files and recordings labeled “Aquash” – whose existence police revealed to prosecutors in late January – are new to the case.

Marshall is charged with murder and aiding and abetting in the death of Aquash, who moved to the Pine Ridge Reservation from Nova Scotia in 1973 during the American Indian Movement’s 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee. Prosecutors say AIM leaders suspected she was an FBI informant and ordered her killing in 1975. Prosecutors have said she was not working for the government.

Marshall’s trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday in Rapid City, but defense attorney Dana Hanna asked for more time to review the new information. On Thursday U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol ordered from the bench that the trial be moved to April 13...

Denver police have acknowledged some records from the case were destroyed in 2001. In December, Piersol ordered prosecutors to contact Denver authorities to determine what evidence was gathered and what evidence was destroyed.

A Jan. 21 letter from Denver Police Commander of Major Crimes Jonathyn Priest to Robert Mandel, assistant U.S. attorney in Rapid City, revealed the Jan. 11 discovery of the “Aquash” box and outlined some of the missing evidence, court documents show. The government delivered about 800 pages of documents and about 20 tape recordings Wednesday, Hanna said...

One of those recordings was an interview between Denver investigator Abe Alonzo and two government witnesses, Hanna said. One of those witnesses is expected to testify against Marshall. [See full text.]