Daniels Murder Trial Begins

COURT HOUSE — With jury selection finalized, the criminal trial against Gerald Daniels commenced shortly before 3 p.m. Monday. Both the prosecution and defense gave opening statements to jury members before Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten; yesterday the prosecution’s case was set to begin.
Daniels, 39, who is mentally disabled, is charged with the June 2004 stabbing death of 81-year-old Wallace Savitz.
Savitz was a widower and World War II veteran who lived alone in the studio apartment where he was found dead, the prosecutor told the jury.
At the time of the murder, both men were residents of Sandman Towers, on New Jersey Avenue in Wildwood.
“This is a very important case,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Rob Johnson announced, in his opening statement.
“These men were involved in a dispute,” he said.
He said the defendant Daniels, “bullied, and asked for money and cigarettes, harassing Mr. Savitz at inconvenient hours.”
Johnson told the jury the building had a volunteer security staff, comprised of residents. He said residents had complained about Daniels’ panhandling, and that Daniels had been given notice to stop.
Residents reported Daniels entered their apartments uninvited, and one resident even reported waking up with Daniels standing over him, the prosecutor said.
Savitz did not respond favorably to the unwarranted solicitations, according to Johnson.
Johnson told the jury Savitz told other residents not to give Daniels loose change or cigarettes, saying it only made his behavior worse.
He said the two men were in a heated argument shortly before Savitz’s death.
Johnson noted that Savitz’s stepson, a building resident, was the first suspect in the murder, but focus switched to Daniels when reports of his panhandling and the resulting dispute surfaced.
Daniels’ mother was also a resident of the building.
A blood-soaked T-shirt was found in a laundry basket in Daniels’ room during an initial search, Johnson told jurors.
Police arrested Daniels on June 16, 2004, two days after Savitz was found dead.
The prosecutor explained Daniels’ left thumbprint matched that of one found on a frying pan lying next to Savitz’s body.
Savitz was found to be stabbed 157 times.
Daniels is charged with first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“Frankly, the evidence will be overwhelming,” Johnson told the jury.
There was a trail of blood from the sixth floor to the second floor. A splotch of blood, he said, was found 20 feet from Daniels’ room.
The prosecutor told the jury Daniels had cuts and injuries to his hands and arms. When he was asked if he knew Savitz, and shown a photograph, he denied knowing him, Johnson said.
Defense attorney Mary Pfeifle, who along with Tim Gorny, was assigned to the case through the public defender’s office, introduced her case 45 minutes later.
“I will not diminish this man’s life,” she told the jury, placing a photo of Savitz on an overhead projector.
Pfeifle conceded to the jury that “Gerald Daniels could be a nuisance.”
“He begged for loose cigarettes and change,” she said.
“Facts are stubborn things,” she said repeatedly.
She said a right-handed murderer created Savitz’s wounds, and the defendant is left-handed.
“It all tells a story,” she told the jury.
Contact Gillin-Schwartz at (609) 886-8600 Ext 24 or at: mschwartz@cmcherald.com.