PORT ANGELES — Andrea Freese killed William Boze with a knife.
There is no argument on that point between John Hayden, the Clallam County public defender representing her, and Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly, who wants to put her away for life for second-degree murder.
The attorneys presented their opening statements Wednesday during a trial expected to last into next week.
Kelly said the 34-year-old intentionally stabbed Boze on July 27, 2007, in a fit of early evening rage after Boze, 73, changed a TV channel.
Hayden said Freese unintentionally killed Boze in self-defense after Boze punched her in the nose — and after he had made previous sexual advances.
A jury for her Superior Court trial was selected Tuesday. George Wood is the presiding judge.
About 10 members of Boze’s family watched the proceedings Wednesday, a box of Kleenex at the ready sitting on a spectator bench.
“We want justice for our dad,” said Charles William Boze III, who had traveled from Pittsburgh for the proceedings.
“He was a deacon in his church and a Vietnam veteran,” Charles said. “He was just a good man.”
Prosecution statement
In Kelly’s opening statement on Wednesday, she said Freese had been staying at Boze’s house in west Port Angeles at his invitation for two years, on and off.
Freese had been staying at the Dream Center teen facility in Port Angeles, where Boze volunteered, but was told to leave because she was too old for the facility, Kelly said.
Boze had severe heart disease and emphysema and walked with a cane, she said.
On the night of his death, Boze and Freese argued after Boze went into his living room to change the TV channel, Kelly said.
Punched in face
Kelly said Freese later told police: “I started to, you know, like, being a bitch. I insulted him. He punched me in the face because I insulted him, and I lost it.”
Kelly said Freese went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, went back into the living room and “stabbed at [Boze] two or three times,” severing an artery in his arm.
“She cut him two or three times,” Kelly said.
“She stabbed him because she was angry and wanted to hurt him.”
Boze staggered into the kitchen “and died in his own blood,” Kelly said.
Freese smoked a cigarette, then called 9-1-1, Kelly said.
“That day in July, Andrea Freese stabbed Bill Boze,” Hayden agreed.
“There’s no question about that. But it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
Defense statement
He said Freese stayed at Boze’s house when she visited Port Angeles from Bremerton, where she lived.
The night of the stabbing, Freese severed Boze’s artery, which sprayed blood over a wide area, so photos of the house the jury will see “are pretty gruesome,” Hayden warned.
The incriminating statements Freese made to police were the result of “an interrogation” by police, Hayden said, vowing to delve into the questioning as the trial progresses.
As an example of her mental state, Hayden said Freese’s smiles after the murder are the result of her paranoid personality disorder. He said that will be attested to by Dr. Brett Trowbridge, a psychologist at Western State Hospital.
“That’s who she is and what she is,” Hayden said.
Freese was also afraid and scared, Hayden said.
She had told police that Boze told her he wanted to sleep with her, Hayden said.
Molestation claims
Some time before Boze’s death, Freese awoke to him groping her under her shirt, according to a Prosecuting Attorney’s Office memo.
The night of his murder, Boze punched her in the nose before she killed him, Hayden said.
The jurors will see photos of blood on her shirt and legs, but Freese also had blood in her nostrils “consistent with her being punched in the nose,” Hayden said.
Freese, in pigtails, sat at the defense table, writing and doodling while Hayden and Kelly made their opening remarks.
Hayden walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder and looked at the jury.
“What was Andrea’s intent going on in her mind at the time she stabbed Mr. Boze?” Hayden said.
“You will be required by law to stand in Andrea’s shoes.”
In questioning, Lea Penninger, formerly with the Port Angeles Police Department, testified that she processed Freese’s blood-stained clothes.
“I do not remember noticing if there was any puffiness to her nose at all,” Penninger said.
Housed homeless
Their father often housed homeless people, both individuals and families, men and women, Charles Boze III said.
Family members warned him his generosity might have dangerous results.
Charles said the family knew Freese was staying with their father but had never met her.
Freese is being held on $500,000 bail in Clallam County jail.
She has been there since the night of Boze’s death, when she was arrested for violating probation on a 2004 assault conviction.
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
