He also complained about his latest
court-appointed attorney, Jeff Reichert, prompting prosecutor Frank Jackson to ask Lawrie if he wanted to fire his attorney.
He answered no.
Lawrie
bristled at the prosecutor's accusation that he was using the system to delay his trial, stating that he's exercising his
constitutional right to a fair trial.
He also complained about his latest court-appointed attorney, Jeff Reichert, prompting prosecutor Frank
Jackson to ask Lawrie if he wanted to fire his attorney. He answered no.
Lawrie bristled at the prosecutor's accusation that he was using the system
to delay his trial, stating that he's exercising his constitutional right to a fair trial.
He also denied stalling in one of about 30 letters
he has written to Judge Marguerite Wagner.
The one-way correspondence with the judge spells out Lawrie's belief that the government is out to get him,
his complaints against his private and court-appointed lawyers and his frustration with being incarcerated.
Most murder cases go to trial within two years of
an arrest. Jackson said that despite Lawrie's maneuverings, he's optimistic that the case will soon be tried because Wagner
has said she will stick to the current trial date.
"We never like cases to take this long, but they happen," Jackson said in an interview. "The court
has heard that request (to continue the current trial date), but has so far denied it."
Authorities say the case began with the birth of Lawrie's son in March 2000
to former girlfriend Nisa Webster. The couple fought constantly, and Webster eventually left the relationship, according to
court papers filed by the District Attorney's Office describing the evidence in the case.
The documents spell out the following chain of events leading to Lawrie's arrest:
Lawrie's family sided with Webster
because of Lawrie's bizarre behavior around the baby. Boehmer and Lawrie's grandmother helped Webster get her own apartment
and kept the location hidden from Lawrie.
This angered Lawrie, who threatened to harm Webster and Boehmer if they continued to hide his son. About
a year before her death, Boehmer confided to a friend that she was afraid of Lawrie, had disowned him because of his behavior
toward her grandson and planned to get a court order to keep Lawrie away from her home.
In October 2002, Lawrie's father died and left a sizable estate, much of it
from a drywall business. In the will, Lawrie received $270,000 while his younger sister, Yvonne, "inherited $2 million to
$3 million dollars."
Lawrie
accused his relatives, including his mother and sister, of conspiring to deny him what he considered his fair share of his
father's estate.
On March
28, 2003, with tensions running high within the family, Boehmer and her husband planned to spend the weekend on their sailboat,
docked at Oceanside Harbor. Her husband went ahead to prepare the boat while Boehmer stayed behind to run some errands, planning
to meet him at the marina around noon.
Boehmer never made it to the boat, and her husband returned home in the afternoon to find her dead.
Around the time of the slaying, a witness saw a pickup
truck similar to Lawrie's speed away from Boehmer's Fallbrook property. Police also obtained cell-phone records that placed
Lawrie in Fallbrook around the time of his mother's slaying and recovered a message left by Lawrie on Boehmer's answering
machine. In a message sent one week before the slaying, Lawrie demanded to see his son immediately.
Detectives arrested Lawrie seven days later on his
boat at a marina in Quivira Basin in San Diego. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Defense attorney Reichert did not return phone messages seeking comment last
week.
In July 2003, the
case was assigned to Wagner, and Lawrie began writing her letters.
At first, he complained about mundane things, like asking that court records include his complete
name, Matthew Alan Lawrie.
Then
Lawrie began what turned into a long series of complaints against several private attorneys he hired, according to the letters.
"We have not been able to get our communications
skills polished," Lawrie wrote in January 2004. "Once again, I apologize for wasting your time as I do not want to be a 'cry
wolf' type."
Also in January,
Lawrie began sending the judge descriptions of weird thoughts that he hinted could delay the case.
"I am a governmental experiment with high technology
micro-chip microprocessors embedded above each ear connected to sensitive nerves," Lawrie wrote. "I fear that I may have a
compromised trial with these devices."
The letter-writing eased as his attorneys filed motions to suppress much of the evidence against him. After Wagner
allowed most of the evidence to be used in the trial, Lawrie resumed writing to her again in October 2004.
He quoted two U.S. Supreme Court justices about the
importance of due process in the judicial system and how courts stand up to those who may take advantage of others.
In November 2004, he presented yet
another theory to the judge.
"There is a conspiracy involving me and my getting any kind of representation and a fair trial," Lawrie wrote. He later
told the judge that the Colombian drug cartels control the courts.
From January through March, Lawrie complained in more letters about being mistreated in jail and
a lack of medical attention for several ailments from which he claimed he was suffering.
Finally, in April, the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine
Lawrie's mental status and whether he was capable of assisting his attorney in preparing for trial.
Based on the psychiatrist's finding, another judge
who was assigned this issue ruled six months later that Lawrie was competent to stand trial.
The psychiatrist acknowledged Lawrie's claims of delusions but discounted them,
noting that Lawrie was capable of discussing complex tax codes with an attorney Lawrie hired to deal with his father's estate
while he was in jail.
In
his latest letter Nov. 27, Lawrie turned on Wagner and accused her of bias. He continued on that tack at the Dec. 2 hearing.
"You would give me dirty looks and
make me feel you wouldn't let me make decisions on my own," Lawrie told the judge. "I find you're prejudiced against me and
my right to a fair trial."
Wagner
denied the accusation, but said she would ask jail officials to make sure Lawrie receives all necessary medical treatment
and reaffirmed her intent to start the trial Feb. 6.
Asked if Boehmer's relatives were frustrated with the delays in the case, Jackson would only say,
"They are pleased the case is going to trial."
