Convicted murderer Posey pushes for overturn of conviction

Former dentist serving time for killing wife

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

Former Napa dentist Michael Posey’s attempt to have his murder conviction overturned has gained momentum.

On Thursday Napa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kroyer ordered the Napa County District Attorney’s Office to give Posey’s lawyers personnel records for retired chief investigator Ed Knutsen. Knutsen was a chief investigator and a key witness at the 2006 trial.

As Posey appealed the conviction, the state Attorney General’s office stated that an unspecified personnel matter relating to Knutsen — who retired December 2007 — might be relevant to Knutsen’s credibility.

After San Francisco attorney Dennis Riordan began the process of appealing Posey’s October 2006 conviction, he received a letter from California Deputy Attorney General Aileen Bunney.

The letter stated a personnel matter unrelated to the trial but “relating to Knutsen has come to our attention ... An argument could be made that the matter is relevant to investigator Knutsen’s credibility.”

Bunney’s letter noted that the Napa County District Attorney’s Office did not learn about the matter until long after Posey was sentenced.

Since personnel records are confidential, Riordan filed a motion with the Napa County courts to have the district attorney turn over the pertinent personnel records for Knutsen.

Kroyer ruled in Riordan’s favor and ordered the personnel records be released.

“If the credibility of investigator Knutsen is an issue to impeach Mr. Knutsen, the (Posey) defense is entitled to see them,” Kroyer said.

However, he delayed the release for one week to give the district attorney time to decide whether to appeal his decision.

Kroyer also issued a protective order sealing Knutsen’s personnel records and prohibiting them from being made available to the public.

In an e-mail, Napa County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold noted the judge told the parties not to discuss the facts underlying Riordan’s request.

“It would be pure speculation to guess how this may relate to his (Posey) appeal,” he wrote. “We remain confident Dr. Posey received a fair trial and his conviction will be upheld.”

Knutsen was on the case from its origins in 1996 to Posey’s conviction in 2006.

Knutsen was the lead investigator for the Napa Police Department when Elizabeth Posey, 27, died of a gunshot wound in her Maplewood Avenue home in April 1996. After leaving the Napa PD to work for the district attorney’s office, Knutsen continued to pursue the case, resulting in the discovery of new forensic evidence leading to Michael Posey’s arrest and conviction a decade later.

On Oct. 26, 2006, a jury convicted Posey, 56, of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife. He was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison.

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