A judge had denied a defense request to move away from Maui the trial of a man charged with murder in the disappearance of his girlfriend.
Jury selection for Bernard Brown’s trial is now set to begin next month, The Maui News reported.
Brown, 50, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Moreira “Mo” Monsalve, who was last seen the night of Jan. 12, 2014, at his apartment at Iao Parkside in Wailuku.
The 46-year-old mother of three was reported missing two days later. Family members, friends and co-workers described Brown and Monsalve as having a “volatile” relationship.
In asking for the trial to be moved, defense attorney Gerald Johnson cited the need “to prevent jury contamination,” given publicity generated during the search for Monsalve on Maui.
“We’re very concerned,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Although the publicity has not been terrible lately, when it comes to trial, we expect publicity will be extensive. And we don’t believe Mr. Brown could get a fair trial here on Maui.”
When 2nd Circuit Judge Peter Cahill asked where the trial could be held, Johnson suggested Honolulu.
Cahill questioned whether having the trial on Oahu would generate “the most extreme amount of pretrial publicity,” contrary to the defense goal of limiting such publicity.
“Don’t you think it would have the opposite effect?” Cahill said. “I can’t send it to Egypt.”
The prosecution opposed moving the trial. Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said the defense hadn’t met the standard of showing “so great a prejudice against the defendant that he cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial in the circuit.”
Cahill said there was no basis to move the trial at this point.
He said there has been some pretrial publicity and the motion to move the trial also would generate some. But he said such issues could be addressed through questioning of potential jurors and by issuing “continuous cautionary instructions” to jurors.
The trial is expected to last two to three months.
Brown was indicted on the murder charge in September 2019, more than five years after Monsalve’s disappearance. He was arrested in Sacramento, Calif., and brought back to Maui. After the indictment was dismissed without prejudice in December, he was reindicted on the charge by another grand jury.
He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.
