Cadden, Chin Face Key Session

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
State prosecutors and lawyers for two former pharmacists will face off in a nearly empty courtroom next week as they make a final attempt to sway a Michigan judge on how to deal with 11 second degree murder charges.
Judge Shauna Murphy has indicated she may rule immediately on whether Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin should be bound over for trial on 11 counts of second degree murder.
Cadden and Chin have been charged with causing the death of 11 Michigan residents who were sickened after being injected with contaminated steroids shipped from the Massachusetts company where Cadden and Chin worked.
Due to the current pandemic the public will be unable to attend the hearing, but they can watch the proceedings on facebook. No more than 10 persons can be in the courtroom at the same time.
Peggy Nuerenberg, whose mother Mary Plettl died in the 2012 outbreak, said she was not disapointed about being unable to witness the Aug. 19 session. She did attend some of the previous pre-trial sessions.
She said that as things turned out Cadden and Chin ended up spending more time in the Livingston County Jail than in federal prisons in Pennsylvania.
"For me I find a great deal of satisfaction in this since the county jail is a much more barren and uncomfortable place than the federal prison," Nuerenberg wrote in an email. She said she is quite confident the two will be bound over for trial.
Cadden and Chin, who are being held in the Livingston County Jail in Howell, will be in attendance along with their lawyers; James D. Buttrey for Chin and Gerald J. Gleeson for Cadden. Prosecuting the case is Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend.
Cadden and Chin already have been convicted on federal racketeering and conspiracy and fraud chargse but two separate juries declined to convict them on second degree murder charges. Cadden is serving a nine year federal sentence while Chin is serving an eight year term. If convicted on the Michgan charges the two are likely to spend the rest of their lives in jail.
In recent filings in the case, Cadden and Chin's lawyers have argued that the charges should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to show how the 11 victims died. They also contend that prosecutors failed to show that their clients acted with malice.
The prosecution has argued that the evidence presented ths far established that there was probable cause to believe the two committed second degree murder.
The 11 victims are Donna Kruzich, Paula Brent, Lyn Laperriere, Sally Roe, Mary Pettl, Gayle Gibson, Patricia Malafouris, Emma Todd, Jennie Barth, Ruth Madouse and Karina Baxter.
To view the Aug. 19 session which begins at 1:30 p.m.,go to www.livgov.com. Once in there, go to the little spy glass on the right hand side and type in Covid-19 emergency and hit “go”, it will bring up Covid-19 Emergency Court Information. Once in there, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you will find links to every courtroom. Click on Hon. Shauna Murphy. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com