The second of three defendants in a gruesome Berkshire County triple slaying is scheduled to stand trial in April, but where the trial will take place is yet to be determined.
The triple-murder trial of David Chalue was scheduled for April 22nd but the location remains to be determined after Chalue’s lawyer argued a motion to move the trial out of Springfield. The sensational case has already had one change of venue – it was moved from Berkshire County to Hampden County because of publicity.
Defense attorney Donald Frank argued at a hearing earlier this week that too much publicity during the recently concluded trial in Springfield of a co-defendant makes it impossible for his client to get a fair trial in front of a Hampden County jury. According to published reports, Frank suggested the trial should be moved to Hampshire or Worcester County.
Judge Jeffrey Kinder did not immediately rule on the request for a change of venue, which was opposed by Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless.
Frank declined a request for an interview and a spokesman for Capeless said the prosecutor would not comment on the change of venue motion.
The 46-year-old Chalue, who is from North Adams, is charged along with two co-defendants in the murders of David Glasser, Robert Chadwell, and Edward Frampton. The men disappeared from a Pittsfield home in August 2011. Their dismembered bodies were discovered two weeks later in Becket. Chalue has pleaded not guilty. Each of the defendants is being tried separately.
Earlier this month, a jury in Springfield convicted Adam Lee Hall of three counts of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Hall, of Peru, was identified as a ranking member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
Speaking with news outlets, including NewsChannel 13, after the verdict in the Hall trial, Capeless said it was a difficult prosecution and he vowed to bring the same effort to the remaining trials.
"It is important for the public to know this was not an investigation of whether Adam Hall had done this. It was determining truth, justice and what had happened. That's the way it came out."
More than 80 witnesses testified at Hall’s trial over three weeks. The jury deliberated for three and a half days.
Carol Chadwell Smith, sister of murder victim Robert Chadwell, sat through much of Hall’s trial, but said she does not plan to attend the trials of the other two defendants, believing Hall was the ringleader of the murder plot.
" It makes me crazy in the head to see this guy smiling at the cameras like he's at a photo shoot. I mean, who does that? There is no remorse whatsoever."
A pre-trial hearing for Chalue is scheduled for April 11
