Blackwell's Rage Recounted -- But Divorce Judge Says Outburst Didn't Alert Him Before Killings

EVERETT - Timothy Blackwell cried repeatedly on the first day of his divorce trial, but by the third afternoon he was angry and "almost yelling," witnesses said.

King County Superior Court Judge John Darrah told a Snohomish County jury yesterday in Blackwell's triple-murder trial that such emotions aren't out of the ordinary in divorce proceedings.

But, he added, "The extent to which (Blackwell) felt it necessary to go into graphic detail . . . seemed to me unusual."

Transcripts from the divorce trial show that Blackwell erupted on the witness stand with profanity and a description of sex in pornographic detail. He had learned during the trial that his wife was pregnant with another man's child.

At one point, Darrah said, Blackwell's less-than-10-minute rage seemed to stun his wife's attorney, apparently preventing her from forming a question to him on the witness stand.

But while the judge admonished Blackwell for using foul language on the stand that afternoon of March 1, 1995, the former computer-repair technician's behavior did not "raise a red flag" in Darrah's mind.

The next morning, prosecutors say, Blackwell entered the King County Courthouse and fatally shot his estranged, pregnant wife, Susana Blackwell, and her two friends, Phoebe Dizon and Veronica Johnson, as the women were sitting outside court, awaiting final arguments in the trial.

Timothy Blackwell, 48, of Kirkland is charged with three counts of aggravated-first-degree murder and could be sentenced to death.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Michael Small, Darrah confirmed that Susana Blackwell had testified during the second day of the divorce trial that she was eight months pregnant with another man's child.

On that day, she had told the court she had attended a party, fallen asleep, awoken with a back pain and apparently concluded she had been raped by a Filipino man named Michael.

Under questioning by Small, Mimi Castillo, the attorney who represented Susana Blackwell, said her client had stated during a deposition about six weeks before the trial that she was not pregnant.

A week after that, Castillo said yesterday, Susana Blackwell told Castillo of her pregnancy, even though she was not visibly pregnant.

Small sharply questioned Castillo, suggesting she knew Susana Blackwell's version of events to be untrue when she put her on the stand.

However, under questioning by King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Marchese, Castillo responded by saying her understanding was that one way or another Michael was the father.

Timothy Blackwell had met his wife, a native of the Philippines, through an international matchmaking service. After waiting a year for her to join him, the couple lived together for less than two weeks before Susana Blackwell filed a report of domestic violence against him and moved out.

Timothy Blackwell, who had initiated annulment proceedings on the basis the marriage was a fraud, sought to have his wife deported. Susana Blackwell was seeking a divorce on grounds of domestic violence and sought to stay in this country.

Yesterday was the third day of testimony in the trial. The trial was moved to Snohomish County because the King County Courthouse was the scene of the slayings.