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Trial to start for man accused in 1978 slaying

Prosecutors say DNA evidence links convicted felon to crime

By Laura McVicker
Published: March 29, 2010, 12:00am
2 Photos
Michael A. Hersh made his first court appearance Dec.
Michael A. Hersh made his first court appearance Dec. 12, 2008, in Clark County Superior Court in connection with the 1978 death of Norma Simerly of Vancouver. Photo Gallery

Jury selection begins today in the trial of a convicted felon allegedly linked by DNA evidence to the 1978 slaying of a Vancouver woman.

The trial of Michael A. Hersh, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the slaying of Norma Simerly, is expected to last two weeks in Clark County Superior Court.

Jury selection is expected to last all day today; opening statements should begin Tuesday.

Hersh is charged in the killing that occurred April 28, 1978, at 200 E. 38th St., in Vancouver’s Lincoln neighborhood.

Citing new DNA evidence in the Simerly case, prosecutors filed murder charges against Hersh in December 2008, and he was transferred from Clallam Bay Corrections Center to the Clark County Jail.

According to paperwork filed with the court, Simerly had just arrived home from work when an intruder entered, attacked her with a piece of firewood and stabbed her four times. She was found naked from the waist down. Money was stolen from her home and her vehicle was recovered near a railroad crossing.

Hersh was 17 at the time. Eleven weeks after Simerly was killed, Hersh was arrested in the brutal assault of a Hazel Dell woman. He was convicted and remains incarcerated for that crime. He’s eligible for parole in 2011.

Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Tony Golik charged Hersh in the Simerly case with two counts of murder on two separate theories: first, he contended that the slaying was premeditated, and second, that it was committed during a “robbery and/or a rape,” according to court documents.

To show the defendant’s alleged M.O., or “modus operandi,” Golik plans to use testimony from the woman who was savagely assaulted by the defendant 11 weeks after the murder of Simerly. Both women were attacked in their homes, during the day, by a suspect armed with a knife, Golik said.

Hersh’s court-appointed attorney, Jeff Sowder, has argued that the evidence from which DNA was extracted — a strand of hair, a raincoat and bark from a fireplace log used to bludgeon Simerly — may have been contaminated and is not reliable evidence.

Both Golik and Sowder are candidates in this year’s prosecuting attorney race to succeed longtime prosecutor Art Curtis, who is stepping down in December.

This week, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Denny Hunter filed a motion, asking a judge to determine whether it was a conflict of interest for Sowder to represent Hersh while running for public office.

Because Hersh has no problem with Sowder’s candidacy, Sowder was allowed to proceed as his defense attorney.

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