Accused DUI murderer asks to be freed - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

Accused DUI murderer asks to be freed

Timothy Dowd Timothy Dowd
Deadly DUI Crash Deadly DUI Crash

Burlington, Vermont - January 14, 2011

A Hinesburg man accused of murdering a woman with his car while driving drunk was in court Friday morning asking to be let out of jail. Friends of crash victim Kaye Borneman wore purple ribbons to the bail review hearing for Timothy Dowd, 52.

Dowd is charged with second-degree murder for slamming into Borneman's car and killing her as he led Burlington police on a high-speed chase December 26th. He denies those charges.

Dowd's lawyers asked Judge Jim Crucitti to let their client live at home under GPS monitoring while the court case against him proceeds. But prosecutors argued Dowd may flee the state or hurt someone else if he's allowed to leave jail.

"It's not just alcohol-related in terms of this case, in terms of the risk," Chittenden County Deputy Prosecutor Mary Morrissey told Crucitti. "It's the decision-making on the part of Mr. Dowd-- the flawed decision making that puts everybody in this community at risk. That put everybody in the community at risk December 26th, and would put people at risk if he's released again now."

"There's certainly a very troubling event, a very sad event that occurs December 26th," defense attorney John Pacht said. "It's against a history of 13 years of acting appropriately in this community. And conditions of release that can stringently monitor his release."

The defense says in future hearings, it plans to question the validity of the second-degree murder charge. Prosecutors say there is substantial proof that this crime merits the murder charge, a novel count in Vermont when it comes to a drunk driver.

Judge Crucitti said he'd consider the arguments about letting Dowd go home and make a decision next week.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News

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