Attorneys on both sides of the Seminole Heights serial killing case are arguing over what could be considered sensitive information from Tampa police.
Attorneys representing Howell Donaldson III are demanding handwritten notes from lead investigators and information on surveillance operations police used to investigate the four murders.
Prosecutors, who are going after the death penalty in the case, wrote in court document that they don’t have to legally give any handwritten notes that investigators took or information about surveillance operations police used to work the case.
Prosecutors argue that releasing the inner workings of Tampa police surveillance operations and efforts to prevent additional murders would not be in the best interest of the public nor efforts to maintain confidentiality.
The final report from lead investigators was released earlier this month but Donaldson’s defense team wants the notes that were taken before those completed reports were made public.
Donaldson’s attorneys said they need the information to fully understand how the final reports on the four murders were prepared and to ask better questions while getting ready for trial.
This all stems back to the timeframe between October and late November of 2017. That’s when police were on the hunt for a suspected serial killer in Seminole Heights.
Donaldson is now accused of murdering the victims.
According to court documents, so far there are nearly 35,000 pages of documents in this case, 36 hours of recorded interviews, 2,400 pole camera videos which making up 1.37 terabytes of data (approximately 8,000 hours of video), and videos from 100 separate locations.
Donaldson told a judge last month he wants to be at every court hearing in the future but he’s now changed his mind.
Donaldson’s attorneys filed paperwork Tuesday indicating he made the decision on his own not to come to court Wednesday afternoon.