Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991 TAG: 9102230415
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"The tremendous amount of media attention" would prevent impaneling a neutral jury, Bernard J. Natkin wrote.
Knick, 34, is accused of murdering his wife, Lisa, at their Battery Lane home while on duty as a police officer last Sept. 29. She was shot once in the left temple and died the next morning.
In a closed-door custody hearing Friday, Jerry Knick's parents and his brother both requested custody of the Knicks' two small children. Since the killing, they have been living with Lisa Knick's brother and sister-in-law in the Fairfax area.
Judge Robert Culpepper of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court is expected to make a decision Monday on custody.
Knick was indicted Feb. 4 on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
As of Friday, there was no response to the request for a change of venue, which was requested last week. Judge George E. Honts will preside over Knick's trial, set for May 23 and 24.
Knick was released on a $60,000 bond Oct. 1 after spending one night in jail. He is on leave without pay from the Lexington Police Department until the case is resolved.
A ballistics report showed Knick's 9mm semiautomatic pistol was in standard operating condition and its safety features were working properly. No fingerprints clear enough to be identified were found on the pistol.
Hours before she was shot, Lisa Knick had telephoned Police Officer A.M. Miller, who has described himself as a friend to both Knicks. Miller visited her for about 90 minutes and offered to work a double shift the next day so she and Jerry Knick could attend a family reunion together, he said.
A fellow police officer testified at a preliminary hearing that Jerry Knick was upset that Miller had been at the house. Knick had told his fellow officers that he and his wife had been arguing that day.
by CNB