‘We are really, seriously having a problem’ he tells judge
Chester Brown had his day — and say — in Rappahannock County Circuit Court Thursday, airing frustrations about his lawyer and how the murder case against him is being handled.
Brown, 65, a former Washington resident, stands charged with first-degree murder and strangulation in connection with the death of lifelong Washington resident Doris Critzer, 74, in her home in August 2023. A weeklong jury trial is scheduled for March 30-April 3.
In a series of outbursts, interjections and pleas to Judge Robert Smith throughout a 30-minute pretrial hearing, Brown said:
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He wants another attorney or be able to represent himself. His attorney has not spoken to him in two months.
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He wants a change of venue.
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He wants a motion filed to have evidence of Critzer’s blood found on a dollar bill in his possession retested, among other concerns about the investigation.
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He questioned Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff’s motion to hire a blood-spatter expert to testify, making a statement his attorney quickly halted him from finishing.
Ditching his attorney
High on Brown’s list of concerns was a lack of communication from Ryan Rakness, a seasoned Charlottesville trial attorney who was appointed to Brown’s case pro bono, meaning without charge.
Brown told the judge the last time he had spoken with Rakness was when he was in court on Sept. 18 and said he has had no calls, visits or mail at the Lunenburg Correctional Center in Victoria, Va.
“Two months and two days I have not spoken to this man … we have not had communication,” Brown said. “We are really, seriously having a problem.”
Rakness said it was true that they had not seen or spoken since his last court appearance, but they had communication and many calls before that time frame. He said he offered to have Brown moved to a facility closer to Rakness’ office in Charlottesville, but Brown refused. The attorney said the murder trial is not until early spring.
“I’m going to do my best to work on this relationship,” Rakness said. “[I] understand my client is upset with me.”
Rakeness said he mailed three legal documents to Brown at the correctional facility and he wasn’t sure why Brown had not received them. “I had no idea what he filed till this morning,” Brown told the judge.
One of those documents was a petition for co-counsel — another attorney — to be added to Brown’s defense team, Rakness said, because with at least 28 witnesses and a lot of scientific evidence, it is too much for one person with a full caseload to handle. Goff said he had no objection, and the motion was granted.
“[The case] is voluminous …. And [DNA evidence] is still coming in from the lab,” Rakness said.
Brown asked again, later in the court session, if Rakness could be relieved as his attorney.
“He’s not going to represent me,” Brown said. “I’d rather represent myself if you’re not going to remove him.”
“You have that right, but rarely does it work out for the defendant,” the judge replied. He said he is not ready to relieve Rakness, and asked Brown to see if things get better with a second attorney on the case. “Let’s see what happens with the addition of another counsel,” he said.
‘Too early’ for change of venue
Rakness filed a motion requesting a change of venue. In his argument, Rakness said there had been an issue previously seating a jury for Brown, and pretrial publicity made the case well-known in “a [county] of 7,000 people.”
Goff argued that it is too early to change the venue, and in Brown’s previous trial for gun charges tied to the theft of a revolver owned by Doris Critzer, a larger jury pool was called and they were able to seat a jury on a second attempt with no problem.
The judge agreed with Goff: “I’m not prepared to change the venue today … the only change of venue I’ve ever seen at the circuit court level was the sniper,” he said, referring to John Allen Muhammad, one of the D.C. snipers whose trial was moved out of Prince William County.
Brown interjected again, and reiterated that in his last trial, it was hard to seat a jury, and “the bar is set so low that all a juror had to say was they could be unbiased.” He said as a Black man accused of a crime against a white woman, he doesn’t think he can get a fair trial.
“The commonwealth’s attorney and law enforcement know everyone here … [jurors] know every officer here, they grew up together,” Brown said.
Brown added that during deliberations in his gun charges trial, he and his previous attorney, Joseph Pricone, could hear jurors laughing during deliberation. “They was in there laughing,” Brown said.
In Rakness’ third motion, he requested transcripts of Brown’s previous trial and for the preliminary hearing for the murder and strangulation charges, which was granted.
Smith said again that he didn’t think it was time to decide on a change of venue, and another court date was set for Dec. 8 to continue the discussion. Seeming exacerbated, Brown sighed and sat back down in his chair.
(The Rappahannock News covered the 2022 trial and sentencing of Rappahannock resident Thighe Kavanagh for shooting his granddaughter in the ankle in July 2019 that took place in Fauquier County Circuit Court after two failed attempts to convene a jury in Rappahannock County. )
‘My advice to you is to be quiet’
After a change of venue was discussed, Goff introduced a motion he filed requesting approval of funds for a blood-spatter expert who would be hired to testify at the spring trial.
Critzer was discovered on the floor of her kitchen by her aunt, Montrue Frazier, who went to check on her after not hearing from her for several days. When a paramedic and law enforcement arrived, Critzer was pronounced dead at the scene, with signs of strangulation and multiple “severe lacerations” to her neck, according to witness testimony at a preliminary hearing in August.
Goff explained to the judge that the expert would provide testimony as to why it is possible that Brown could have committed the crime without being covered in blood, noting that factors such as whether the victim was alive and her heart was beating when her throat was cut and the positioning of certain arteries play a significant role.
Brown interjected from his seat and began to ask if Goff was saying the witness would testify that “her heart wasn’t beating when —”
Rakness quickly interrupted him: “My advice to you is to be quiet,” he said abruptly, seemingly trying to stop Brown from saying anything that may incriminate him in open court. Rakness sat shaking his head as Brown continued to try and speak.
The judge said he agreed with Rakness, and that Brown may have “said too much before” in earlier statements that were difficult for this reporter to decipher, but related to Brown being in Critzer’s home.
The Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum submitted a request for a partial copy of the transcript of the proceeding, which has to be approved by the judge. The decision had not been returned ahead of publication.
The judge told the attorneys he felt he needed to “address the elephant in the room” and asked whether there was an issue with Brown’s competence to stand trial. Both attorneys said Brown is competent. He has a “well-educated sense of the criminal justice system,” Goff said. Rakness added that Brown is “a very intelligent man, ready and willing to advocate for himself” as was seen in the courtroom Thursday.
Concerns about the investigation
Brown brought up several motions he wanted his attorney to file that he said they were unable to discuss since there had been no communication.
One was a motion to retest a $1 bill that the prosecution has stated was stained with a drop of Critzer’s blood. Brown said that beyond that small drop, there was no blood on any other bills or in the backpack they were found in.
During Brown’s preliminary hearing in August, prosecution witnesses said none of Critzer’s blood was found on other items of Brown’s that have been sent to the lab, including his bike pedals, shoes and a pair of sweatpants.
Brown said he also wants some of his clothes brought into evidence that he said were not entered by investigators.
Later in the proceeding, Brown questioned why fingerprint evidence was not collected at the scene of the murder.
“Who does that, judge?” he asked with frustration in his voice.
After the court session concluded, Brown and Rakness were escorted to a private room to speak.
Brown will be back in Rappahannock court on Dec. 8. for another pretrial hearing.
