D.A. withdraws death penalty notice in murder case

Feb. 2—The district attorney has withdrawn a death penalty notice against a state prison inmate accused of killing another inmate in 2019 at Baldwin State Prison near Milledgeville.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III announced the decision during a Wednesday morning hearing in Baldwin County Superior Court.

The co-defendant in the case, Timothy Dunigan, who has yet to stand trial, will no longer face the possibility of death as a form of punishment if he is convicted.

Dunigan and co-defendant Trinity Wayne Bussler, who will be tried separately, are accused of killing 26-year-old David Michael Watson on June 13, 2019. The co-defendants and victim were all serving sentences at the local state prison at the time.

Both men were arrested and charged with malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery.

Dunigan and Bussler were indicted on the charges by a Baldwin County grand jury on Jan. 11, 2021.

Authorities contend Dunigan and Bussler stabbed Watson about his face, neck and lower back multiple times, which led to his death. The victim was then placed into his cell bunk and set afire.

"This is a case that has been pending for quite some time," Barksdale told Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Terry N. Massey.

The district attorney noted there had been no motions heard regarding the case.

"In the meantime, I've had the opportunity to have multiple conversations with defense counsel," Barksdale said. "At this time, we have an agreement that we want to put on the records and make sure that the court understands that this agreement is contingent on a couple of things."

The district attorney said he had offered to withdraw the death notice and the state's intention to seek the death penalty against Dunigan.

"And I'm not going to get into the factors at this time as to why we're doing that," Barksdale said.

The district attorney said he had not yet made a decision on whether or not he would withdraw the death notice against Bussler.

"There are circumstances that we have contemplated that have led us to make this determination," Barksdale said. "In exchange for us withdrawing our death notice and our efforts to seek the death penalty on this defendant, what we have agreed to is for you, your honor, to issue an order specifically setting this case for trial the week of Nov. 6."

One of the stipulations in the agreement between the prosecution team and defense team is that the current defense attorneys continue serving as Dunigan's trial attorneys.

Dunigan is represented by Nathanial L. Studelska, a supervising attorney with the Georgia Public Defender Council; and Laura Cobb, who is an assistant defense attorney with the same state agency. They both work out of the Georgia Public Defender Council Office in Athens.

Dunigan sat at a table in between his defense attorneys Wednesday, clad in white prison clothing, wearing a bright orange vest, with a covering over his hands, which were in handcuffs. His legs were also shackled.

He was guarded in the courtroom by five Georgia Department of Corrections officers.

A pair of deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office also provided security in the courtroom.

Studelska agreed with the comments made by Barksdale concerning the dismissal of the death penalty notice.

Barksdale said he anticipated the murder trial lasting about a week.

"I would think a week at least would be a good estimate," Studelska said.

Massey later asked attorneys how long they thought they would need to present motions in the case.

Non-evidential motions will be heard on April 4. Additional motions will be heard on May 22 and 23.