Pre-trial motions heard in Rosario attempted murder case

Before jury selection began Monday morning in the trial of a Topeka resident charged with the Decem­ber 2013 rape and attempted mur­der of a Holton woman, attorneys attempted to tie up some loose ends in the case on Friday in Jackson County District Court.

A five-day jury trial for Filip Chase Rosario has been set for this week, and during a pre-trial motion hearing on Friday, District Court Judge Micheal Ireland granted Ro­sario and his attorney, Ron Evans of Topeka, the opportunity to re­view a video interview with the al­leged victim in the incident.

Ireland also told Evans and Jack­son County Attorney Shawna Miller that only personal conduct between Rosario and the alleged victim should be considered during the trial. A motion had been filed to consider the personal conduct be­tween the victim and others with whom she had been in previous re­lationships, but Miller said the mo­tion amounted to an attempt to “bad-mouth the victim.”

Rosario has been charged with attempted capital murder, two counts of aggravated criminal sod­omy, two counts of rape, aggra­vated kid­napping, ag­gravated bat­tery and criminal threat, all felo­nies, in the December 2013 inci­dent, which reportedly occurred in Holton. He is currently being held on $300,000 bond.

On Friday, Evans told Ireland about his concerns with copies he received of the alleged victim’s video interview, saying that discs the interview were on “tainted” discs that his computer system wouldn’t play. Miller replied that the discs worked on her computer and on a computer at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

Ireland told Evans that regarding the interview disc, “you should’ve brought it to me before now,” but granted Rosario a chance to review the disc, adding that “I want him to be certain that it plays.” Ireland also told Rosario that he would not be able to “start and stop it your­self” during the review, noting Ro­sario’s request to review the inter­view “a minimum of three times.”

Following jury selection on Monday morning, Miller opened the prosecution's side by presenting testimony from Det. Al Dunn of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and a video recording of an interview with the alleged victim, both of which gave the victim's account of the events in December 2013. Evans said he would wait until Miller had presented all evidence before presenting his opening statement.