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Accused murderer questions legality of search
A 40-year-old Ashburn man charged with first-degree murder will have to wait nearly a month to find out if Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputies illegally searched his residence earlier this year.
David E. Cavalieri is accused of killing his live-in girlfriend, Stacey Lynn Harper, and storing her body under a bed for about two weeks.
On April 15, Cavalieri called 911 from his condominium on Timber Ridge Terrace in Ashburn to report that he had stabbed himself.
When deputies got to the home, they went inside before rescue workers to make sure it was safe.
When they questioned Cavalieri about what appeared to be stab wounds on his neck, he said he had administered them.
When asked about wounds on his stomach, Cavalieri said, “I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I guess I did these,” several deputies testified.
While emergency medical personnel were attending to Cavalieri and getting ready to take him to Inova Fairfax Hospital, deputies searched his condo to make sure no one else was there. While they were doing this, Cavalieri never told them to stop, the deputies said.
The only thing he told them was to make sure the dog and cat stayed in the master bedroom and didn't get away, they testified.
At first, deputies did not see anyone, but while Cavalieri was at the hospital, one of them found Harper's body under a bed, wrapped in plastic.
Upon that discovery, police secured a search warrant.
Cavalieri was charged with murder later that day.
Before Cavalieri was taken to the hospital, Deputy Aaron Kozikowski said Cavalieri told him where he would find the knife that he used to stab himself.
“He was kind of guiding me to find it,” Kozikowski said.
In addition, investigator Shannon Coderre said that when she interviewed Cavalieri at the hospital before the body was found, he told her where she could find bloodstains and marks on the wall in the areas where Cavalieri tried to commit suicide. However, he told her she could not listen to his voicemail.
Cavalieri testified that he does not remember giving the deputies consent to search his house and only answered their questions because he thought he had to.
“I asked [Sgt. Linda] Cerniglia if I had to answer the questions, and she said, 'yes, you do,'” Cavalieri said.
Cavalieri's attorney, Lorie O'Donnell, is arguing that her client never authorized police to search his home, so the discovery of Harper's body was illegal since the deputies did not have a warrant.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Nicole Wittmann is arguing that Cavalieri told the deputies it was OK for them to go through the home, and by not stopping them, he implied consent.
Both attorneys presented their cases in front of Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James Chamblin Nov. 4 but did not get to present final arguments due to time constraints. Chamblin set arguments for Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.
Cavalieri's trial date is February 2010.
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