GREENFIELD — When Lewis H. Starkey III’s lawyer argued that collecting DNA from his client’s mouth was a bodily intrusion, the prosecution didn’t buy it.
Neither did the judge, who ordered Starkey submit to a buccal swab at a pretrial hearing at Greenfield Superior Court Wednesday. The DNA evidence is now expected to be used at Starkey’s trial, tentatively set for April.
Starkey, 54, is accused of murdering Amanda Glover on July 5, 2017 after an argument at her home at 179 West St. in Wendell.
He then allegedly turned his shotgun and fired at Glover’s adult son — who escaped — and then fled, driving over an hour to the Specialized Trucking company at 215 Griffith Road in Chicopee, firing through a window there, injuring an employee with glass shards.
Starkey was ultimately apprehended after a five-day manhunt while driving in Orange. Orange Police Sgt. James Sullivan said when he caught Starkey, who was driving on Holtshire Road, Starkey told the officer, “You got the prize.”
Starkey is now awaiting separate trials in Franklin and Hampden Counties for his alleged actions in Wendell and Chicopee, respectively. On Wednesday, he appeared in Greenfield Superior Court for a pretrial hearing and the filings of various motions.
Starkey’s murder trial was scheduled for April, and his final pretrial hearing was scheduled for Feb. 15.
Among the motion’s filed by the prosecution — led by Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Suhl — was the motion for DNA to be collected from Starkey’s mouth to supplement “a lot of blood evidence” already available.
“(The buccal swab) violates search and seizure rights,” said defense attorney Michael Sheridan, adding that it would further violate Starkey’s rights to have the state visit him in prison to take DNA evidence to be used against him.
So, Judge John Agostini accepted the prosecution’s offer to do the swabbing right there at the courthouse.
According to Suhl, Starkey’s DNA could be found all over the scene of the crime, the shotgun he allegedly used and in the car he allegedly fled in, tying him to the string of events that left one dead and one injured in July 2017. If Starkey’s DNA is found with the deceased’s blood, that could be particularly damning.
“When they swab for blood, they are also potentially going to come back with DNA evidence that belongs to the defendant,” Suhl said.
The shotgun Starkey allegedly used was found in Chicopee with blood on it after his alleged attack on coworkers at Specialized Trucking.
“There’s probable cause that the defendant held and possessed that gun,” Suhl said.
Several other motions were filed, but some of the hearings were pushed back to Jan. 3, 2019 to allow the attorney’s more time to prepare arguments.
These include a motion to admit evidence of subsequent bad acts in Chicopee, which, if allowed, could change how the trial plays out.
If the evidence of bad acts in Chicopee is allowed, then Starkey has the right to ask for one trial for all charges where all evidence is admitted. If the motion is not allowed, Starkey will continue to await two separate trials.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.