Fourteen years after her death, Myrna Jean Clemons can provide evidence at the trial of the man accused of killing her.
Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek ruled Tuesday that statements the Superior woman made three months before her death can be admitted into evidence when the case against of Michael David Mattson goes to trial next week.
Mattson, 56, faces a charge of first-degree murder for the bludgeoning death of Clemons on Feb. 19, 1993, in the Allouez neighborhood home they shared.
Glonek also admitted court records showing Mattson pleaded guilty to criminal charges of battery and aggravated battery against Clemons for two incidents in November 1992. Testimony from Superior police officers regarding those incidents also will be admitted, Glonek ruled.
Chief Public Defender J. Patrick O'Neill, Mattson's attorney, objected to the admissions. The information, he said, would "heap prejudice" on his client.
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Mattson's alleged confession to the murder, given to police in October 2006, already has been accepted into evidence. It gives enough information about his intent, O'Neill argued. Adding information on the two battery cases, he said, does nothing but characterize Mattson as a "bad person" and is a waste of time.
Assistant District Attorney James Boughner was stretching to link the two November incidents with the murder based on what O'Neill called a "temper tantrum" before the violence in each case, the public defender said. There was no pattern because circumstances were different in the murder case, O'Neill argued.
Glonek found the information was relevant. The prior acts took place three months before the murder in the same home with the same victim. The information's value would not unfairly prejudice a jury any more than the facts of the case itself would, Glonek said.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday to iron out last-minute issues before the trial begins Tuesday.
