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Jury picked in self-proclaimed neo-Nazi's murder trial

Pasco Sheriff's Office (left) / Staff photo

A makeup artist will meet with John Ditullio Jr. every day before court to cover any tattoos that he did not have on the day of the alleged crimes.

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By TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2009

Updated: 12/07/2009 07:00 pm

NEW PORT RICHEY - The complexion of self-professed neo-Nazi John Ditullio Jr. that prospective jurors saw today was quite a bit cleaner than the one seen in court Friday afternoon.

The once-overgrown goatee had been closely cropped.

A swastika tattoo on the right side of Ditullio's neck and an expletive on the left side had been rendered largely invisible, the work of a court-paid makeup artist. The artist also blotted out tattoos on Ditullio's face: one of a string of barbed wire; the other of a teardrop.

Pasco Circuit Judge Michael Andrews' decision to allow a defense motion to cover the tattoos at state expense sparked discussion and some outrage. The state approved spending up to $125 a day for up to 10 days for the makeup artist, something longtime jury consultant Arthur Patterson said he hasn't seen in his 27 years of experience.

"It's traditional to give a defendant a clean suit of clothes and a haircut," said the Sarasota consultant, who isn't involved in the case. "I don't know if I ever remember a case where makeup was used to change the way a defendant had chosen to present himself to the public."

Ditullio, 23, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the March 2006 stabbings of Kristofer King and Patricia Wells.

King, 17, died of his injuries.

Wells survived and is expected to testify for the prosecution this week. Today, she said she was angered with the decision to allow Ditullio to cover his tattoos, many of which he has acquired since he has been in custody.

"I'm infuriated," she said. "That's what he's about. He knew he was going to trial. He did the tattoos to show he's a neo-Nazi, to show that he's a white supremacist and has no care for other's lives. Why cover them now?"

Andrews allowed Ditullio to cover any tattoos he did not have at the time of the crimes. Some were regarded as being so offensive that they would prevent Ditullio from receiving a fair trial, an important goal in any trial but especially one in which the defendant faces a possible death sentence.

Authorities have said Ditullio was a member of the American Nazis, a group that congregated at a compound on Teak Street in the Griffin Park area. Wells lived next door to the compound, and King was a friend of her son.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis has said the attacks occurred because the neo-Nazis had seen Wells associating with a black man and because King was a homosexual.

Investigators said Ditullio donned a wartime gas mask and opened the door of Wells' mobile home just after midnight on March 23, 2006. He cornered Wells and began stabbing her, then turned the knife on King, authorities said. Wells, then 44, escaped and ran screaming from the home.

Ditullio was taken into custody the next day after deputies found him inside the compound's mobile home.

Deputies say they also found an arsenal of guns and knives, framed quotes from Adolf Hitler and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, animal bones and white supremacist propaganda.

Defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand has said he plans to argue that Shawn Plott, who was also a member of the neo-Nazi group, committed the stabbings and that his client is simply a scapegoat.

Brunvand, Halkitis and Andrews quizzed potential jurors throughout the day on their opinions about the death penalty, what they had heard about the case and whether they thought they could be fair to a man who professes to be an extremist, among other things.

The attorneys settled on a group of 14 – 12 jurors plus two alternate jurors – about 6:30 p.m. Monday. Opening statements are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Regardless of Ditullio's altered appearance, the case likely will come down to the strength of the facts, said Patterson, the jury consultant.

"The bottom line at trial is always facts," he said. "When you have strong facts, something like putting makeup on the guy's face is not going to change the outcome one way or another."

News Channel 8 reporter Krista Klaus contributed to this report. Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (813) 731-8098.

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