Malstrom evidence buried
A Prince George’s County prosecutor said university student Brandon Malstrom spoke about the stabbing attack hours before his 2002 death, a lawsuit filing claims, revealing what could be new evidence in a case that has baffled investigators.
The filing, which is part of a defense argument in a lawsuit filed by Malstrom’s parents, quotes Assistant State’s Attorney Fran Longwell as saying during a sentencing hearing for one of Malstrom’s attackers that “he [Malstrom] said after the incident, twenty minutes later, he ran in the backyard and got stabbed.”
The filing was issued on behalf of defendant Quan Davis, who was acquitted of murder in a 2003 trial but convicted on weapons and common-law riot charges. It further argues that another prosecutor referenced a statement made by the dying Malstrom prior to his death at a local hospital in the sentencing phase of a case involving accused attacker Robert Fournier.
It is unclear, however, how specific Malstrom was in the statement, and Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey, questioned whether Longwell’s statements had been taken out of context.
In the original investigation, Bill Malstrom, Brandon’s brother, was cited as a witness. But in other court filings, such as the appeals court ruling that overturned the conviction of attacker John Ryan Schlamp, Bill was never cited as a witness to his brother’s being stabbed in the backyard. The lawsuit filing is not specific as to which Malstrom Longwell was referring to.
If Malstrom did make a statement prior to his death, it was never entered as evidence in any trial, nor was it part of the investigatory materials made available to defense attorneys during the legally required discovery process. Under the discovery requirement, people accused of crimes are legally required to be shown evidence that could be presented against them.
If attorneys are able to prove prosecutors withheld a statement made by Malstrom, it could lead to claims made by the three men accused in Malstrom’s death that prosecutors withheld evidence that would have cleared the three men of charges.
In a normal situation, that would lead to a case’s dismissal. But in the case of Schlamp, one of his charges was overturned by a Maryland appellate court, and he has been released from jail. Schlamp has since filed suit against Prince George’s prosecutors and university and county police.
Longwell was not available for comment yesterday, but Korionoff insisted that the “prosecution of these defendants was based on evidence and information that we had at the time of the investigation.”
Schlamp’s father, John Randolph Schlamp, was incensed by the accusation made in the court filing, and vowed to pursue his suit, which was recently taken up by a U.S. district court.
“How could the police have the last statement of Malstrom and not bring this out?” Schlamp said. “Ivey or Longwell need to explain that statement. Why would she say that?”
The disclosure of a Malstrom statement could be an unusual turn in what has proved to be an already mysterious case. Although Malstrom was found with multiple stab wounds in the chest after an altercation with Fournier, Davis and Schlamp – none of whom are students at this university – none of the several bystanders, including Bill Malstrom, could identify who stabbed Brandon Malstrom. Davis also admitted to having a knife earlier in the night, and Schlamp at some point told a university police officer that he had “killed somebody,” according to court filings.
The stabbing took place at a nighttime off-campus homecoming party on Princeton Avenue after a day of heavy drinking, and alcohol has frequently been cited as a reason for the sometimes convoluted accounts of the night’s events. Other mysterious findings, such as the discovery of Malstrom’s coat hanging on a nearby fence, further complicated the case.
Doctors testified Malstrom would not have been able to remove his jacket on his own because of his stab wounds, which had punctured his chest and severed his aorta.
Schlamp’s father said if Malstrom’s statement holds true and if police held back the last dying statements by Malstrom, it contradicts their entire case, which he said relied in part on placing the stabbing in the front of the house.
Contact reporter Owen Praskievicz at praskieviczdbk@gmail.com.
