Additional reports sought in murder case
EL CENTRO — The defense attorney for murder defendant Ioan Laurint sought additional time on Wednesday to obtain and review reports related to the investigation into the fatal stabbing of Ann Marie Zimmermann on Feb. 17 in El Centro.
Defense attorney Donald Levine had sought the additional documents through a discovery motion during a pre-trial hearing Wednesday at the courthouse in El Centro.
Levine, a private San Diego-based attorney, was appointed by the court to represent Laurint in August, after Laurint was successfully able to petition the court to replace his former county public defender.
Laurint had alleged during prior court proceedings that his former public defender was not adequately representing his interests. On Wednesday, county Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Plourd had also indicated that he would like counsel to be soon able to identify a date when the trial might get underway.
In response, Levine said that he would have a better idea of a possible start date once he obtained and reviewed the documents he currently does not have in his possession.
All parties are due back in court Jan. 10 for another pre-trial hearing, during which time a trial date will try to be determined.
Laurint is accused of fatally stabbing Zimmermann, an El Centro attorney, on Feb. 17 at a motel room in El Centro.
He has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder.
Zimmermann’s body had been located on Feb. 17 at the Golden West Motel room along with Laurint, who had reportedly sustained stab
wounds that required his subsequent hospitalization and which investigators later described in court as “superficial.” Laurint was eventually arrested March 5 in connection with the alleged murder.
Video surveillance footage obtained by the El Centro Police Department from the hotel allegedly revealed that Laurint and Zimmerman were the sole individuals who had repeatedly entered and left the motel room during the day in question, according to previous court testimony.
Testimony provided previously in court by El Centro Police Department investigators who interviewed Laurint on Feb. 28 while he was hospitalized alleged that Laurint and Zimmermann had been having an affair and had plans to one day together.
Zimmermann reportedly sustained 10 stab wounds to her chest, neck, and body, including a perforation to live her heart and two to her left lung, a county Coroner’s Office official had previously testified.
Zimmermann’s subsequent autopsy revealed that she also had sustained a total of four so-called “defensive wounds” on her right forearm, and left and right hands, the Coroner’s Office official had testified.