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WILKES-BARRE — The attorney for a city man charged with stabbing a local homeless man to death is seeking to suppress the alleged killer’s confession.
Defense attorney John Pike Tuesday filed several pretrial motions ahead of Daniel Elias Holtslander’s March 29 trial date, many seeking to quash potential evidence in the fatal stabbing of 49-year-old Kurt Swan. Swan’s body was found June 25 in a wooded area behind the Kmart store at Mark Plaza in Edwardsville.
Holtslander, 38, of Wilkes-Barre, was charged with Swan’s death July 7. That day, Holtslander told investigators he was sleeping in his truck when Swan climbed inside and approached him. He told police he “lashed out” and stabbed Swan with a pair of knives, not knowing it was him, according to the affidavit.
Holtslander’s alleged admissions “were not voluntary, nor were they the product of his rational intellect or free will,” Pike wrote, adding Holtslander’s rights were violated when the statements were obtained without first reading him his right to counsel and against self-incrimination.
Holtslander, Pike claims, continued to be questioned even after requesting an attorney.
Several other motions are laid out in the filing, including a request to suppress physical evidence, prohibit the use of videos and photographs of the crime scene and victim, preclude evidence of Holtslander’s prior criminal record.
Pike also seeks disclosure of a confidential informant’s identity and to suppress evidence obtained from a wiretap.
Pike had previously indicated Holtslander’s psychological history “may give rise to an inability to perceive events and/or enhance his need for safety and preservation thereby giving rise to a theory of self-defense.”
Holtslander remains jailed without bail.