MIDDLETOWN — A Butler County judge has refused a defense request to close court proceedings in a double-murder death penalty case, ruling Wednesday that threats against attorneys do not justify shutting the public out.
Attorneys for Natrone Kakaris, 29, asked Judge Jennifer Muench-McElfresh to close future hearings and the trial to the public after death threats were made toward his lawyers and a potential witness, and after Kakaris was attacked while in custody at the Butler County Jail.
Prosecutors, the victims’ families and members of the press opposed the request. The judge denied it, saying there is currently no “essential purpose” to close the courtroom. She added that law enforcement will find out who is responsible for the threats.
“I am simply not going to tolerate any kind of threats that affect anyone’s ability to do their job,” Muench-McElfresh said. She said the Butler County Sheriff’s Office will provide additional security at hearings.
Kakaris is accused of fatally shooting Marvin “Ty” Davis II and Daniel Fitzgerald, both 25, in early 2023. A grand jury indicted him in February on charges including aggravated murder. Prosecutors say he carried out the shooting to escape arrest for another crime and because he “wanted no witnesses.” Davis was shot 14 times and Fitzgerald three times, including once in the back of the head, according to court filings.
The killings went unsolved for more than three years until Kakaris was arrested by Middletown police and the U.S. Marshals Service early this year.
Sheriff’s deputies lined the walls of a fourth-floor courtroom as the sides argued the closure question Wednesday. The case moves toward trial with proceedings remaining open to the public and the press.