By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
David Dooley could be freed while awaiting a new trial if a request for bond is granted.
David Dooley and attorney Deanna Dennison at Thursday’s pretrial conference at which a date was set for a bond hearing. Dooley, whose murder conviction in the death of Michelle Mockbee was overturned in May, has been in jail since 2012 (photos by Mark Hansel).
Dooley’s attorneys, Deanna Dennison and Jeff Lawson, requested a bond hearing at a pretrial conference Thursday in Boone County.
Circuit Court Judge James R. Schrand set a September 20 date for the bond hearing, for the man accused of killing Michelle Mockbee at a Northern Kentucky industrial park.
Dooley has already been convicted of the crime once, and has been behind bars since 2012. His conviction was overturned in May, however, after Schrand granted Dooley a new trial because he detemined evidence that could potentially have aided in his defense was withheld from his attorneys.
Dooley has always maintained his innocence.
Dooley’s wife, Janet Dooley, became very emotional when talking about the possibility of bond for her husband and said there are no words to describe what it would mean to have him home again.
“We have a crisis in our family right now and it would be nice to have Dave home with all of us, to get us through,” she said. “He gets us through a lot, even when he’s in here, he still guides us over the phone and tells us ‘hang in there.’”
Dooley has been housed at the Boone County Detention Center since June 6, while he awaits a new trial.
Janet Dooley said she sees her husband less now than when he was in state prison.
“When you are in prison, you can go see him Friday, Saturday and you can visit all day Sunday,” she said. “You are sitting there with him, you are not looking at a video camera – that’s my visits now – ten minutes one day and a half hour another, that’s it. We knew we had to go through this to get him home, so we were prepared; I thought we were prepared.”
David Dooley’s wife, Janet Dooley, became emotional when she spoke about the possibility of hr husband being released on bond while awaiting a new trial.
Mockbee’s sisters, Jennifer Schneider and Cindy Parker, say it is hard to find sympathy for the Dooleys.
“I think it’s unfair that his family gets to still see him, they get to visit him in prison, they got to see him today,” Parker said. “We don’t get to see Michelle, we’ll never get to see Michelle again. So, I don’t feel that sorry for them right now.”
Despite the decision to grant Dooley a new trial, Schneider said the right man is in jail.
“We’re very much looking forward to the new trial,” Schneider said. “We look forward to the facts of the case coming out and the public being made more aware of those facts that clearly point to David Dooley’s guilt. We’re very much looking forward to the trial and for us to be able to move forward and get on with our lives, but it will never be the same again because Michelle is not here.”
Mockbee, a mother of two, was bludgeoned to death at the Thermo Fisher Scientific facility in Florence where both she and Dooley worked, shortly after arriving early on the morning of May 29, 2012.
Dooley was convicted of killing Mockbee in 2014 and was sentenced to life in prison.
His attorneys were in the process of appealing that conviction when the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) took the unusual step of requesting a CR 60.02 hearing to determine if Dooley should be granted a new trial.
A request for a new trial almost always comes from defense attorneys, but the contents of a thumb drive presented to the OAG raised questions about the conduct of Commonwealth Attorney Linda Tally Smith and the lead investigator in the case, then-Boone County Det. Bruce McVay.
Correspondences between Tally Smith and McVay refer to a video showing an unknown man on the Thermo Fisher Scientific property just 10 hours before Mockbee was killed.
Tom Pugh, one of Dooley’s defense attorney at the 2014 murder trial said he never saw that video at any time while he was representing Dooley and it would have been a key part of the defense strategy.
“It would have been our closing,” Pugh said. “Our whole defense was that he didn’t do it, so if we can point to unknown individuals who were trying to get into the building and things like that, it would have been used. One of our biggest issues was you could get in and out.”
Tally Smith acknowledged that at some point she became aware of the video, and in a correspondence to McVay, indicates it could call the verdict into question.
Michelle Mockbee’s sisters, Jennifer Schneider (left) and Cindy Parker, say it is hard to find sympathy for the Dooleys. “I think it’s unfair that his family gets to still see him, they get to visit him in prison, they got to see him today. “We don’t get to see Michelle, we’ll never get to see Michelle again,” Cindy Parker said.
“…[Y]ou allowed me to go through a complete f…ing murder trial without telling me the truth about that video, and now that I know it, what the f… am I supposed to do now?
If the statement is accurate, it suggests that Tally Smith knew at some point that she was withholding information that should have been provided to Dooley’s lawyers.
For his part, McVay testified under oath that Tally Smith was made aware of the contents of the video before the murder trial began. McVay said he and fellow investigator Everett Stahl determined the man to be a truck driver that was on the grounds at the time of the video and who left shortly after Mockbee arrived for work.
The truck driver, who testified at the CR 60.02 hearing, did not appear to resemble the man in the video and said he did not leave his truck that night. Dooley’s attorney also provide information from his driver’s license at the time of the killing, which does not appear to be consistent with the physical characteristics of the man in the video.
Tally Smith and McVay also admitted to having an affair, which she said began after the murder trial was concluded. In correspondences, copies of which are contained on the thumb drive, she also calls McVey’s integrity into question.
The OAG removed Tally Smith from the case and Special Prosecutors from that office presented the State’s case at the CR 60.02 hearing and will represent the Commonwealth during the new trial.
Tally Smith is currently under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, but remains Commonwealth Attorney.
The decision to grant Dooley a new trial should not be interpreted as an indication of his innocence or guilt. It means Schrand determined his defense team was not provided with all the evidence available to present the best case for the innocence of their client.
The request for a bond hearing also is no guarantee that Dooley will have a bond set, or if it is, that his supporters will be able to post it.
He is still charged with a brutal murder and there is every indication that the OAG intends to move forward with a new trial.
Dooley’s bond was established at $1 million prior to the original trial and Schrand could set a similar amount, or determine that bond is not appropriate.
The date for a new trial has not been set and it could be next year before a jury is seated.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
