Bludgeoning suspect to face jury trial

By Christine Laughren
May. 15, 2009    ·    7:09 a.m.

A 20-year-old accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend in Recreation Park will face a trial scheduled for the end of June.

Dominic Oyerinde faces an open murder charge and larceny of a vehicle, related to the death of 17-year-old Ann Arbor resident Anna List.

The ruling was made after about eight hours of testimony over the course of two days. Judge Kirk Tabbey, 14A District Court, pointed to the evidence against the defendant as enough to proceed with a jury trial.

“It looks to me the people have shown probable cause,” Tabbey said at the end of the examination Wednesday evening. “Mr. Oyerinde was the last person with her.”

List was found unconscious in the early morning hours of Jan. 13 near the entrance of Recreation Park on Congress Street, northeast of Chapelle. She was hospitalized and in a coma until she died less than a week later.

An autopsy confirmed her death was the result of two blows to her head with a blunt object. List sustained fractures to her skull toward the back of her scalp and on her forehead.

Tabbey said a hammer found near the playground of Recreation Park is similar to the weapon believed to have been used against List. The judge also pointed to a pair of Converse tennis shoes found at the scene of the crime, similar to those said to have been worn consistently by Oyerinde.

Tabby went on to say, it could be argued List was already unconscious and on the ground when she received the second strike to her head.

He also said a “rocky relationship” was evident by the domestic assault charge filed by List against Oyerinde about a month prior to Jan. 13.

Some of the last witnesses to testify at the examination Wednesday said they were aware of an argument between List and Oyerinde just hours before the victim was found lying in the snow in the early morning hours of Jan. 13.

Zachary Wujcik, a close friend to the suspect, and boyfriend of Eleora Skinner, said Oyerinde was “angry” when he arrived at Skinner’s mother’s house on the 1100 block of Congress Street the night of Jan. 12.

“He told me his phone was stolen,” Wujcik said. “He thought someone had pick-pocketed him, or he had dropped it.

“He told me he was angry.”

Skinner said List came to her mother's house, where Oyerinde had been staying at off and on, to help him look for his phone. According to testimony given, Oyerinde left the house to meet List outside. He returned about a half hour later and called List again with Wujcik’s phone.

“She said ‘I’m coming back, ’ ” Wujcik said during his testimony. “And she came back and he left out for the last time.”

However, assuming his friend would return to stay the night, Wujcik went to unlock the front door after Oyerinde had been gone for some time. He said he heard the sound a car engine starting, looked out the window and saw Oyerinde driving away in List’s van.

“Dom was driving a car that wasn’t his and I didn’t see the owner of the vehicle,” Wujcik said. “That was my concern.”

Police were able to track footprints in the snow from where List was found back to the 1100 block of Congress.

Detroit Police found Oyerinde in the evening hours of Jan.13 soon after receiving information about the search from Ypsilanti Police. He and the van were brought in to the Ypsilanti Police Department later that night.

Several times during both days of the preliminary examination Oyerinde attempted to speak to Tabby and stop the proceedings. Court-appointed defense attorney Timothy Niemann asked that Oyerinde be excused from the examination.

“On behalf of my client I am making a motion to adjourn and if not, allow my client to remain in lock up this afternoon.”

However, Tabby said rather than create an appellate issue where there is none, he would rather have Oyerinde continue in court.”

Psychiatric evaluations were conducted after Oyerinde’s initial preliminary exam was adjourned in January to allow time to determine Oyerinde’s criminal responsibility and ability to stand trial.

The opinion of the forensic examiner was that Dominic was competent to stand trial. Niemann did not contest those results.

However, Niemann said the results of the evaluation to determine Oyerinde’s criminal responsibility were not made public and can remain sealed unless an insanity defense is pursued on his behalf.

In early April Niemann would not comment as to whether he would employ an insanity defense for Oyerinde.

Oyerinde’s trial begins at 1:30 p.m. June 24.

Related stories:

Preliminary examination begins

Oyerinde case moves forward

Psychiatric examination holds up Oyerinde’s time in court