Defense to question accused killer Gregory Noack's confession at January hearing
Accused killer Gregory Noack will return to court in January for a hearing on evidence and several motions the defense plans to file, a judge ruled Thursday.
Gregory Noack
Prosecutors say Noack killed his girlfriend Dawn Fital in June after she denied him sex at their Arbor Knoll apartment in Pittsfield Township. At a preliminary exam in October, Washtenaw County prosecutors played a video of Noack telling police that he choked Fital to death before fleeing the state with her body.
Noack will return to court at 9 a.m. Jan. 27 for a Walker hearing, which will be used to determine how voluntary his confession to police was when he was arrested.
Fital and Noack had been having some relationship troubles in the weeks preceding her death, including when Fital broke up with Noack on a phone call from Las Vegas, where she was participating in a pool tournament. The couple reconciled in early June, but Noack told police he snapped on June 13.
Noack told police during his confession that he climbed on top of Fital, wrapped duct tape around her face and mouth in a type of gag and choked her until she was dead. He then allegedly stuffed Fital’s body into one of her ex-husband’s suitcases, loaded it into her Chevrolet Blazer and — after a few stops — began driving west.
Eventually arriving in Merrillville, Ind., early on June 14, Noack allegedly dug a hole in a wooded area near a credit union where he intended to bury Fital’s body after he had dismembered her. When he was arrested, he refused to tell police where he had stashed Fital’s body, according to a video played at the exam.
Noack eventually led police to a retention pond behind the Toys ‘R’ Us location in Merrillville where Fital’s body was found still in the suitcase submerged in the water.
At the preliminary exam, Washtenaw County Assistant Public Defender Christopher Renna disputed whether the information gained from police interviews was admissible. Renna said much of the valuable information came after Noack told police he didn’t want to answer any more questions, which Renna said was a violation of Noack’s Miranda rights.
It’s expected that Renna will bring up these concerns about Noack’s confession at the hearing in January.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Chris 8 - YPSI PRIDE
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:19 a.m.
@Actionjackson : When the police arrest someone accused of such a henious crime, and start explaining why a video and audio is not following the accused from the minute he is slapped into cuffs, up to the time they drop him in a jail cell to wait for trial, only then will I be convinced they do not use "other" methods to make one talk. In this day and age of digital instant recording of just about anything, I will never believe a confession was obtained without some sort of coersion or force. When video and audio is used in these situations it is cut and edited for the purpose of a favorable outcome on part of the prosecution and police. In this particular case the evidence speaks for itself, whether he was questioned before or after lawyering up. There are many many other cases where evidence is not enough, and until recording everything from beginning to end becomes a standard, I have zero and I mean zero faith in the United States justice system. Google "Martin Tankleff" and read the history of what was done to this guy. The sloppy work of the Police has set many guilty people free, and also has sent many innocent people to prison.
actionjackson
Tue, Dec 13, 2011 : 10:10 p.m.
So hard to beleive that the police did not stop their questioning when asked? If one demands a lawyer or even requests not to speak mires their entire case.