White River Junction
Kyle Bolaski, now 32, was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial in 2011, but the Vermont Supreme Court threw out the conviction in 2014, in part because the trial judge, Patricia Zimmerman, prematurely excluded evidence about the mental health of the victim, Vincent Tamburello Jr., prior to the Aug. 17 incident at a Chester, Vt., ball field.
Bolaski’s defense team spent several hours on Thursday arguing why Tamburello’s medical records should be admitted at Bolaski’s new trial; the state has filed a motion to keep mental health information out, and the purpose of Thursday’s hearing was to allow each side to make its case.
Tamburello had ingested three to four times the therapeutic amount of the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, or Xanax, and was in a “drug induced psychosis” at the time he charged at Bolaski, said Dr. Scott Lukas, a psychopharmacologist hired by the defense who studied a blood sample taken from Tamburello after he died.
That medicated state of mind could have affected Tamburello’s decision making and caused him to act aggressively or exhibit hostile behavior, said Lukas, who took the stand in Windsor Superior Court for the better part of the day.
Tamburello also had several other drugs in his system at the time of the shooting, including marijuana, methadone, Paxil, Restoril and Oxazepam and had told a mental health professional in the past that Xanax makes him “feel angry and violent,” Lukas said.
Lukas reviewed several of Tamburello’s medical records ahead of the hearing and said Tamburello either sought medical care or was hospitalized multiple times throughout June, July and August of 2008.
The reasons varied but included failed suicide attempts, psychiatric issues and “drug seeking” behavior, Lukas said.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor John Lavoie accused Lukas of having an incomplete understanding of how the shooting transpired. Lukas didn’t review any of the trial transcripts, he said, and mistakenly thought Tamburello was the “aggressor” that day.
“There was plenty of testimony that he backed away and was stalked,” Lavoie said.
Bolaski, of Springfield, Vt., claims he acted in selfdefense when he fired two shots at Tamburello after Tamburello chased him.
A second witness to testify on Thursday, Dr. George Behonick, a toxicologist, cast doubt on Lukas’ calculation of how much over the therapeutic dose of Xanax Tamburello had ingested prior to the shooting.
He also said such a calculation can’t be made with “scientific certainty” post-mortem.
Behonick said Lukas performed his calculation on a serum sample versus a blood sample, which has an effect on the concentration reading.
A serum sample would read higher than a blood sample.
In fact, Behonick said, one can’t get a serum sample post-mortem because the clotting process has already begun. In order to get serum, he said, the blood has to be drawn from the body and placed in a specific tube that allows the blood to coagulate.
Lead defense attorney Brian Marsicovetere objected to Behonick’s statement and said he would file a written motion with the court.
Ultimately, Windsor Superior Court Judge Theresa DiMauro will decide what information will be admissible at trial. The evidentiary hearing was supposed to wrap up on Thursday afternoon, but testimony ran late and another half-day hearing will be scheduled, though the date is unclear.
A trial date hasn’t yet been set.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.