Woman wants charge of killing twin in cliff crash dismissed

Associated Press ^ | 11/24/2017 | Jennifer Sinco Kelleher

[simpson96]

A murder charge against a woman accused of deliberately driving off a cliff in Hawaii and killing her identical twin sister should be dismissed because prosecutors misled the grand jury that indicted her, a defense attorney said.

Authorities described the 2016 crash as a hair-pulling fight over the steering wheel. The sisters were seen arguing on the narrow, winding Hana Highway on the island of Maui before their SUV plunged 200 feet over a cliff.

Anastasia Duval was in the passenger seat and was killed, and her sister Alexandria Duval was arrested. A judge later ordered Alexandria Duval released after finding no probable cause for a murder charge. She traveled to upstate New York and was arrested again months later in Albany after a grand jury indicted her.

Birney Bervar, Alexandria Duval's defense attorney, filed a motion last week seeking to dismiss the charge, and a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. A prosecutor says it will be up to a jury to decide on the evidence.

The defense motion says a witness to the crash did not testify before the grand jury, instead a detective took the stand to describe what that person saw. The witness had told police he saw the passenger pulling the driver's hair with both hands and heard yelling.

The detective testified incorrectly that the witness said the passenger was no longer pulling the driver's hair when they went over the edge, the defense said. The witness, who the defense interviewed, said the fighting and hair-pulling continued until he lost sight of the SUV as it drove past him and off the cliff, according to the motion.

Autopsy results showed that "long, loose blond hairs" were found on both of Anastasia Duval's hands, the motion said.

[Mears]

I hate height-——and hated the Hana Highway-———and 2 others that I found myself on in my lifetime———and I was a passenger each time.

.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Lowell Thomas and Charles Lindbergh both had homes towards the end of the island “

Lindbergh is buried in Hana, I believe. We lived on Maui for a few years and I would never even consider driving - or riding - to Hana.

[Cosmo105]

I completely agree! Saddleback road on the Big Island is also a fun drive :)

[Iscool]

I broke the rental car rules (which they CIRCLE) about not driving on unpaved roads and took the “back way” back to the hotel. This was the 90s — some of it was rough but I made it through by following what appeared to be tire trails from hay trucks or somesuch — drove through farmland with cows and the like.

I did the same thing about 3 years ago...Glad I did it but won't be doing that again...

[stylin19a]

base on hearsay evidence.

[NewJerseyJoe]

>> I broke the rental car rules (which they CIRCLE)

I remember that. I did the same thing but not on the road to Hana. I drove around the northwest part of the island, from Kapalua back down to Kahului. I took it slow, so no problems with the rental car -- and I got some truly amazing photographs. Breathtakingly beautiful up there.