Defendant Enters Court In Restraints -- Dog Dna May Be Evidence In Trial Of Combative Suspect

The murder trial of two men accused of fatally shooting a couple and their pit bull began this morning with a prosecutor telling jurors he would take them back in time to the scene of a brutal crime.

"I promise you, it will not be pleasant, but it will be compelling," Senior Deputy Prosecutor Tim Bradshaw said in an opening statement.

The King County Superior Court trial is unusual on several fronts. So violent is defendant Kenneth Leuluaialii - officials say he has attacked jail inmates and guards - that he's being wheeled to and from the courtroom strapped to a low-riding, metal restraining chair.

The case is also believed to be the first time that DNA from a dog is being used as evidence in this country. Prosecutors say the pit bull's blood spattered on jackets both defendants were wearing, placing the men at the scene of the crime.

"The irony will be that the witness who could not speak when he was alive may be the most eloquent witness" of all, Bradshaw said, referring to Chief, the slain dog.

Leuluaialii, 23, is charged with two counts of aggravated-first-degree murder and one count of second-degree animal cruelty.

George Tuilefano, 24, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree animal cruelty.

They are accused of killing Jay Johnson, 22, and Raquel Rivera, 20, and their dog on Dec. 9, 1996. The victims were found in the rear bedroom of their South Park home.

Leuluaialii - who stands about 6 feet 3 inches and weighs more than 250 pounds - is being wheeled to and from the courtroom in the special chair, outside the presence of jurors to avoid prejudicing the jury against him.

For the same reason, over the objections of news media, King County Superior Court Judge Richard Jones took the unusual step yesterday of specifying that news photographs - even those taken in the the courthouse hallway - must not show Leuluaialii in the device, where he sits handcuffed, restraining straps criss crossing his shoulders, another strap across his lap and two others around his ankles.

This morning, scrutiny over trial publicity continued, when lawyers for both sides questioned jurors about whether they had read or heard news reports of the trial last night or today. Because some jurors said they had seen a newspaper article about the case this morning, the defense asked for a mistrial. The motion was denied.

Prosecutors allege the two defendants kicked down the door of the house after Johnson refused to sell them marijuana, then shot Chief before shooting Johnson in the leg. After running to a bedroom, Johnson was shot again, fatally.

Rivera was shot as she lay on the bed.

In his opening remarks, Donald Minor, Leuluaialii's attorney, acknowledged that the couple and their dog were slain, but suggested someone other than the defendants killed them.

Minor attacked the credibility of two witnesses in particular - the driver of the getaway car and the driver's former girlfriend - who will testify for the prosecution that the defendants committed the murders. Minor said today the two witnesses have changed their stories repeatedly and can't be believed.

Pete Connick, Tuilefano's lawyer, was to give his opening remarks next.

Increasingly, courts are using DNA tests in criminal trials as evidence to link defendants to crime scenes or victims through semen, blood, hair, saliva or other biological traces.

According to Bradshaw, a California-based company, PE AgGen, extracted blood stains from 10 spots on the two jackets and matched them with blood from the pit bull.

The test showed there was only one chance in 350 million that the blood was not the dog's, Bradshaw said.