One Year Anniversary of Oakton Girls Killed Walking Home From School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 months in jail, 3 years of no driving. According to google.

Doofus - trial has not started yet

[Anonymous]

Can’t believe this is going to trial and this mf-er didn’t plead guilty. I hope he goes to jail for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5 months in jail, 3 years of no driving. According to google.

Doofus - trial has not started yet

I have corrected myself twice and posted that this is another person of the same name. I don’t think I can go back and edit my first post, otherwise I would. Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

Report your post to the moderator and see if he can delete it and the posts that quote it. It’s very misleading and confusing.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where the trial will be held and will this be open to the public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know where the trial will be held and will this be open to the public?

His trial is scheduled for July 24, 2023 in Fairfax Circuit Court.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if this is a public trial? If so, how many people are allowed to attend...about? Do you have to register to attend or just show up and first come, first serve? Any dress code or other general guidelines for attending trials?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if this is a public trial? If so, how many people are allowed to attend...about? Do you have to register to attend or just show up and first come, first serve? Any dress code or other general guidelines for attending trials?

Come on. Google is your friend here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5 months in jail, 3 years of no driving. According to google.

Doofus - trial has not started yet

I have corrected myself twice and posted that this is another person of the same name. I don’t think I can go back and edit my first post, otherwise I would. Sheesh.

You posted more things after the first post but it wasn’t clear that you were posting retractions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can’t believe this is going to trial and this mf-er didn’t plead guilty. I hope he goes to jail for a long time.

Jurors who drive are sympathetic to other drivers who "made a mistake." Why? Because the jurors can envision themselves making the same mistake.
All he needs is one juror who won't convict.

He's charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years for each count.

Here's an interesting wrinkle:

Manslaughter (Sections 18.2-35; 18.2-36; 18.2-36.1)
In the state of Virginia, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter are still common law offenses, which means they are not defined in statutes. See Blythe v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 722, 725, 284 S.E.2d 796, 797 (1981). However, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter are both punishable as Class 5 felonies. Sections 18.2-35; 18.2-36.

Source: https://www.virginia-criminallawyer.com/virginia-homicide-lawyer/laws/

So the prosecution will need to rely on case law and precedent to secure a conviction.

The only part of the VA code that addresses involuntary manslaughter is the punishment for involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence (sec 18.2-36):

Code of Virginia
Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally
Chapter 4. Crimes Against the Person
6/13/2023
§ 18.2-36.1. Certain conduct punishable as involuntary manslaughter.
A. Any person who, as a result of driving under the influence in violation of clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of § 18.2-266 or any local ordinance substantially similar thereto unintentionally causes the death of another person, shall be guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

B. If, in addition, the conduct of the defendant was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, he shall be guilty of aggravated involuntary manslaughter, a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one nor more than 20 years, one year of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment.

C. The provisions of this section shall not preclude prosecution under any other homicide statute. This section shall not preclude any other revocation or suspension required by law. The driver's license of any person convicted under this section shall be revoked pursuant to subsection B of § 46.2-391.

To my knowledge, the defendant was not charged with a DUI. He was speeding, but to what degree? Further the accident was caused when the defendant hit another vehicle that turned in front of him. The defendant's vehicle then careened out of control and he hit the girls on the sidewalk. He likely will put forward the argument that the driver who made the illegal turn started a chain of events and that this was an accident.

In my opinion, he has a solid shot of getting a hung jury. It all depends on how fast he was driving. If he was going 45 in a 25 zone, it's probably not enough to convict.

[Anonymous]

This is not a case where jurors will see themselves in the driver's shoes! He was going well over 80 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Yes, jurors could see themselves going 50mph in a 35 mph zone... but NONE of those jurors is going to excuse someone going more than 80 mph on that kind of street. And there are two DEAD teens here. Jurors won't be forgetting them.

This driver needs to be found guilty and spend some time in jail. I have faith that a Fairfax County jury will see that when presented with the evidence.

[Anonymous]

People speed all of the time. The recent fatalities have two things in common - people in the path of oncoming traffic. While they didn’t *cause* the accident they certainly contributed to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People speed all of the time. The recent fatalities have two things in common - people in the path of oncoming traffic. While they didn’t *cause* the accident they certainly contributed to it.

The speed limits are calculated based upon oncoming traffic having time to respond to other vehicles. If you’re traveling so fast that other drivers do not have time to react to your speeding, you are going way too fast. Traveling at highway speeds in areas with homes, schools, pedestrians, etc. should lead to some mandatory jail time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People speed all of the time. The recent fatalities have two things in common - people in the path of oncoming traffic. While they didn’t *cause* the accident they certainly contributed to it.

The girls were hit on the sidewalk. They didn’t contribute to the accident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People speed all of the time. The recent fatalities have two things in common - people in the path of oncoming traffic. While they didn’t *cause* the accident they certainly contributed to it.

The girls were hit on the sidewalk. They didn’t contribute to the accident.

They weren’t the ones who contributed. It was the truck that started to turn but paused in the lane of incoming traffic while the girls were crossing.