Markus Kaarma Defense Attorney Releases Revised Expert Witness List [YouTube]

The lead attorney for Markus Kaarma, Paul Ryan of Missoula, has filed his revised expert witness list for the trial scheduled to begin on December 1.

Ryan said the list contains only four names, for now.

"We had filed that several weeks ago, but we've made some updates on the way," Ryan said. "We have basically four primary expert witnesses so far, but we may be adding more later. At this point we have a criminologist who looks at the overall scene of the crime and does an analysis, similar to what a detective would do. We also have a ballistics expert that will talk about the gunshot evidence, including the pellets, their trajectory and things of that nature. We have some psychological testimony and then, also a toxicologist who will talk about different issues during the trial."

Regarding the use of what is commonly referred to as 'the Castle Doctrine', Ryan said Judge McLean would provide the points of law on that matter, but he also has a witness will provide some testimony on that subject.

"We certainly have Dr. Ron Martinelli, who has been involved in several different cases around the country, primarily dealing with law enforcement shootings and their justification, so he'll definitely have some things to say about that," Ryan said.

Ryan is still concerned about being able to impanel an impartial jury for his client in Missoula.

"This has obviously been a high profile case," he said. "There's been a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation presented to the community, we believe, and we're going to do the best we can. I grew up here, and I think fairness is one of the main things people value. We'll sift through everything and make sure we get the fairest possible jury for both sides."

Ryan said the months between the fatal shooting and the first day of trial on December 1 have been rough on all involved.

Kaarma has entered a plea of not guilty to deliberate homicide in the shooting death of Diren Dede, 17, a German exchange student who was killed while trespassing in Kaarma's garage on April 27. Kaarma is free on $30,000 bond.