Ruling: Some police reports on killings to be made public

Some, but not all, of the hundreds of pages of police reports on Kirkland's recent quadruple homicide that were accidentally released to a local television news station will be made public, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling came over the protest of defense attorneys for Conner Schierman, accused of fatally stabbing his neighbor, Olga Milkin; her sister, Lyubov Botvina; and Milkin's two small sons, Justin and Andrew, on July 17 and then setting their Kirkland house on fire.

"It should just not happen, period," said defense attorney James Conroy, who argued that the release of the reports by a Kirkland police officer violated Schierman's constitutional rights and potentially tainted future jurors.

Judge Gregory Canova decided to allow the release of a redacted version. The documents, which likely contain details about the crime scene, victims and defendant, could be available to media as soon as the end of this week.

However, Conroy said he would immediately file an appeal attempting to hold off the release until another hearing, set for Sept. 7.

At that hearing next week, the judge will also consider defense motions for a change of venue for the trial and for a protective order that would prevent the further public release of any police documents or discovery.

Schierman, 24, has been charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of arson. King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng has yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Also on Tuesday, Canova denied a defense motion to dismiss the case because of alleged governmental misconduct associated with the accidental document release. Calling a dismissal "an extraordinary remedy," Canova said he could not find sufficient evidence that the release damaged Schierman's constitutional right to a fair trial.

Milkin's husband, Army Sgt. Leonid Milkin, attended the hearing and said he agreed with the judge's decisions. He brought to court a picture of his son, Justin, who would have turned 6 today.

"I just wanted to ponder the fact that this beautiful little boy is not here," he said after the hearing, holding up the photo of the boy standing against a bright yellow background, with his arms open wide and a toothy grin.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com