Ackley's 2Nd Trial In Killings Begins -- Man Accused Of Slaying Two Eastside Women

KINGSGATE

Gary Dean Ackley hated the way his girlfriend's mother, Arlene Jensen, meddled in his life, hated that she took care of his children without his consent, hated her so much he killed her, King County prosecutors said yesterday.

And after confiding in his childhood friend, Stephanie Dittrick, Ackley allegedly killed her, too, to keep the slaying a secret.

That was the motive prosecutors laid out in King County Superior Court in the first day of Ackley's Seattle trial. The 28-year-old Snohomish County resident is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and, if convicted, would face life in prison.

In rebuttal, Ackley's attorneys said that the state does not have credible forensic evidence linking him to either slaying and that he was not near the scene of either crime.

The trial, which may take six weeks, was halted last month when the judge declared a mistrial after a prosecutor repeatedly questioned whether the defendant would testify, a line of questioning that was ruled to be in violation of Ackley's Fifth Amendment rights.

Yesterday, with a new jury seated, senior Deputy Prosecutor Roger Davidheiser steered clear of such implications. He made less eye contact and pointed less frequently at Ackley than he had two weeks ago during his original opening statement. Davidheiser focused instead on portraying Ackley as a controlling, paranoid man.

He said Ackley had been living with his girlfriend, Julie Jensen, and their two young children. Arlene Jensen, 53, the children's grandmother, helped care for them because she considered Ackley an unfit parent, Davidheiser said.

Once, when Julie Jensen was ill, a niece was paid to baby-sit for two weeks rather than to trust the children's care to Ackley, much to Ackley's displeasure, Davidheiser said.

He said the prosecution would present witnesses who heard Ackley threaten Arlene Jensen: "If you ever interfere with my life, my children, (and) with Julie again, I will kill you."

Ackley, Davidheiser told the jury, was a man of his word.

Davidheiser alleged that on the night of May 26, 1997, after taking speed and smoking marijuana, Ackley entered Jensen's Kingsgate condominium northeast of Kirkland, killed her and left her body in thick brush near the Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville.

The body was found three weeks later. Davidheiser said similar fibers and metal fragments were found on Jensen's coat, near her body and in Ackley's car, which authorities believe he used to move the body. Two cigarette butts found in a toilet in Jensen's condo were the same brand Ackley smoked, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorneys argued that Ackley could not have killed Jensen. The night she disappeared, they said, he was home playing with his dog and watering his flowers.

Davidheiser said Ackley talked about the slaying with his close friend, Dittrick, 29, then killed her July 5.

Her body was found the next month in a remote campground near Skykomish. "He drove deep into that forest and murdered her because she knew too much," Davidheiser told the 12 jurors and three alternates.

Metal fragments and a plastic bag with Ackley's fingerprints were also found on Dittrick's leopard-skin coat, according to the prosecutor.

In response, Ackley's lawyers said both women had friends, besides Ackley, who worked around machinery. They also said the most important forensic evidence - DNA, blood and hair samples - was not found in Ackley's car.

And Ackley's attorney, Leo Hamaji, said the night Dittrick disappeared, Ackley was at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe and drove to the U.S.-Canadian border.