How much of defendant's statement should be part of Teaneck murder trial? Attorneys debate
HACKENSACK − Sui Kam "Tony" Tung, the Manhattan man who is being retried for the killing of his estranged wife's lover in Teaneck, appeared in Bergen County Superior Court on Wednesday with Judge Christopher Kazlau making determinations on how much Tung's statement to police after his arrest would be included in the trial.
Tung was found guilty of killing of Robert Cantor in March 2011 and setting his body on fire to hide the evidence. Police said Cantor was shot in the back of the head, placed on a bed in the basement, doused with grain alcohol and set ablaze. Tung was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years for setting the fire that destroyed Cantor's Teaneck home.
In 2019, a panel of appellate judges overturned the conviction and ordered Tung be given a new trial after they found the lower courts allowed inadmissible testimony from a Bergen County detective and that prosecutors alluded to Tung's guilt throughout the trial because he invoked his right to counsel during questioning and refused searches of his vehicle and computer.
During Wednesday's hearing, Tung's attorney, Ian Silvera, sought to have portions of his statement redacted, saying they were prejudicial while William Miller, one of three prosecutors working on the trial, argued that the nine sections in question were legitimate police interrogation tactics.
A majority of what was removed were things said by the police officer questioning Tung. Some of the removed statements include the officer mentioning what he would say if asked about being in Moonachie the night of the homicide.
Portions of Tung's statement were already redacted and mutually agreed upon by the prosecution and defense.
Silvera said much of Tung's statement is the officer "basically inserting himself" during the interrogation.
"He was, basically in some ways, trying to put words in Mr. Tung's mouth," Silvera said. "If you look at this question and answer session of the statement, 120-something pages, most of this was the officer's running commentary."
Silvera argued that a jury could interpret that as substantive evidence in the case.
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Miller said some of the statements made by the police officer could come with specific jury instructions on how it is a common and legitimate police tactic for a detective to break down a suspect "when presented with inconsistencies."
The pair argued their reasonings before Kazlau for two hours with the judge making decisions as each redaction was addressed.
Tung's retrial is expected to start at the beginning of May and last several months. The prosecution estimated it had about 30 witnesses who would testify before it rested its case.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Teaneck NJ murder trial debated by attorneys in Bergen court
