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While the much anticipated murder trial of poker player Ernest Scherer III was officially slated to have begun yesterday (November 1, 2010), most of the next few weeks will consist of motion hearings it was learned on Monday.
Scherer III stands trial for the murder of his parents, Ernest Scherer Jr., and mother, Charlene Abendroth. The couple were found savagely beaten in their Alameda County home in 2008. Prosecutors allege that the younger Scherer owed substantial gambling debts and murdered his parents in order to receive an inheritance payment. They also contend that Scherer III made the murder appear to be a home invasion.
Judge Jeffrey W. Horner on Monday noted that dozens of motions would be heard over the month of November with a weeklong break for Thanksgiving. Additional motions would be heard during the first two months of December before a two-week long Christmas holiday break.
Also during the first two weeks in December, Judge Horner expected jury selection to commence.
Witness testimony was not expected until early January.
There is a strict gag order placed on this case, which prohibits defense attorneys and prosecutors from speaking with media outlets. Recording devices will be prohibited in the courtroom as well.
Nonetheless, some of the witness information has already been obtained. The San Jose Mercury noted the following witnesses likely to take the stand come January in what promises to be a most intriguing trial:
Pamela Waters is believed to have dated Scherer briefly and says he told her his parents’ house was burglarized prior to police releasing any information on the murder.
An yet-to-be-identified women is expected to claim that she was the victim of domestic violence by Scherer in July 2008, between the time of the slayings and Scherer's arrest in Las Vegas the following February. The prosecution aims to refute character testimony that Scherer never showed violence.
Tanner Scadden, an associate of Scherer III, is expected to testify that Scherer III offered a $50,000 bribe "to testify falsely that unknown persons threatened him over outstanding gambling debts."
- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
