MELISSA MARVIN TRIAL
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MANTEO, N.C. (Court TV) — Melissa Marvin, the amateur surfer accused of killing four teenagers in a drunken driving accident, had a blood-alcohol level three and a half times the legal limit at the time of the fatal crash, a forensic scientist testified Thursday afternoon.

The prosecution, which is expected to rest its case Friday, coupled this damaging scientific evidence with police testimony about two previous occasions when Marvin was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Marvin, 30, faces four counts of second-degree murder and a single count of assault with a deadly weapon for the April 6, 1999 crash that claimed the lives of high school juniors Shana Lawler, Megan Blong, Amanda Geiger and Angela McGrady. Their friend Michael Horner was also severely injured. Prosecutors charge that on that day, Marvin drank five alcoholic beverages for lunch before getting in her SUV, running a red light and striking the teens' car.

Prosecution witness Paul Glover calculated Marvin's blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash at .28, significantly higher than the .21 level found in her blood several hours after the wreck. North Carolina's limit is .08.

Defense attorney Michael Sanders challenged the findings, suggesting Glover based his calculations on faulty assumptions. Sanders emphasized that the expert did not know for sure how many drinks Marvin had consumed, nor their strength. Glover, however, countered that Marvin's blood-alcohol level could be determined without that information.

Kill Devil Hills Police Corporal Michael Hazen, one of the first on the scene of the April accident, told the jury he had arrested Marvin on the same highway in 1991 after stopping her for a broken tail light. He smelled alcohol on her breath, and arrested her for driving while impaired. Subsequently, he testified, she told him she had been smoking pot.

Similarly, a state trooper told the jury he had arrested Marvin for DWI in June of 1996 after her SUV sped by his marked highway patrol car. She smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes and refused to take a sobriety test.

"She was unable to stand steady without a swaying motion," Trooper Sheldon Smith said.

In both cases, she plead to lesser charges.

Marvin faces 17 years in prison for each murder charge and another three years for the assault charge. Testimony resumes Friday at 9:30 a.m. when the prosecution is expected to call Horner, the sole survivor of the crash.

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