PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will not appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States the dismissal of the 1978 murder case against convicted murderer Tommy Ross Jr.
Ross had previously been scheduled for trial in Clallam County Superior Court for the April 1978 strangulation of Port Angeles resident Janet Bowcutt before Judge Brian Coughenour dismissed the case in late 2018 over a violation of Ross’ right to a speedy trial — a decision upheld by the Court of Appeals.
The state Supreme Court declined to review the case earlier this month, meaning the dismissal still stands.
“After a great deal of deliberation with my staff and other prosecutors, we decided not to ask for Supreme Court review,” Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said in a statement.
Nichols said the chances of the court accepting review and overturning the dismissal are slim. Even if the court did accept the case, it would take two to three years, making the case upward of 45 years old.
“Many important witnesses are already deceased or infirm. The case simply would not be prosecutable,” Nichols said. “The worst part of this was telling Janet Bowcutt’s family that they would not receive the justice they deserve.”
Ross, 61, was charged with murder in June 1978 with the April 24, 1978, strangulation death of Bowcutt, a 20-year-old mother of a 6-month-old boy found unharmed on her bed while she lay dead on the floor.
Ross was arrested later that year for questioning in Los Angeles on separate murder and robbery charges but was allowed by the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to be extradited to Canada on a separate murder charge.
There he served 38 years for the 1978 murder of 26-year-old Janice Forbes of Victoria, killed three weeks after Bowcutt.
The appeals court rejected the argument by the prosecuting attorney’s office that Ross had failed to assert his speedy trial rights for decades, saying the failure “only slightly weighs against him.”
“A defendant has no duty to bring himself to trial,” the judges said, quoting the landmark federal speedy-trial case, Barker v. Wingo.
“We cannot ignore that the delay of 38 years is unprecedented in speedy trial cases.”
He admitted to two Port Angeles detectives in a 1988 interview that he killed Bowcutt and two other females in Anaheim and one other female in Los Angeles, according to his probable cause statement. Ross has denied he made such a confession and the interview was not recorded.
Ross was tied to Bowcutt’s death by a January 2018 DNA test results on a hair found on Bowcutt’s clothing.
Ross is now in jail in Sacramento, Calif. He was incarcerated April 5 in the Sacramento County jail following an alleged altercation with family members involving a knife.
According to the jail register, he remained incarcerated Monday without bail on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and threats to commit a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury, and a misdemeanor charge of removing or destroying a wireless communications device to prevent someone from summoning assistance.
Ross remained ineligible for bail. His next court date is Dec. 4.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
Senior Staff Write Paul Gottlieb contributed to this report.
