A Yolo County Superior Court Judge is set to rule as to whether Daniel Marsh’s alleged confession of the April 14, 2013 murders of an elderly Davis couple, Oliver Northup and Claudia Maupin, should be part of the upcoming trial process.
The motion to suppress the alleged confession was filed by deputy public defenders Ron Johnson and Andrea Pelochino on Feb. 6. They claim that Marsh was taken to the Davis Police Station under false pretenses before being questioned by Davis Police Detective Ariel Pineda and FBI Agent Chris Campion about the murders.
Yolo County prosecutors say this bid to get rid of the alleged admission should be denied because law enforcement officers did not use false pretenses or coercion to elicit the confession, according to the Davis Enterprise.
“(T)he defendant decided to confess because he believed it was pointless to resist in light of all the evidence against him, not because of any promises of leniency,” said Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney, Michael Cabral in an opposition motion.
Marsh was arrested on June 17 and is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, along with the special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders, torture and lying in wait. He is being tried as an adult. Marsh has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently in custody at Yolo County Juvenile Hall.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. and Marsh’s trial is set to begin the week of March 10.
— Paayal Zaveri
