Dave Hawk was held to answer to a murder charge with a special circumstance for financial gain. His attorney says Dave Hawk will testify in his murder trial, which is expected to happen before the end of the year.
/*Dave Hawk*/ walked into court smiling, again. But just 45 minutes later a judge said there's enough evidence to charge him with murdering his ex-wife, Debbie. Debbie Hawk went missing two years ago. Her body has never been found. Debbie Hawk's sister says she is happy the case is moving forward and still thinks about Debbie.
Diane Triantis, Debbie Hawk's Sister: "She would be…very proud of my nephew he's really done well under the circumstances and ... I'm sorry that she's missing out on all this stuff."
Prosecutors believe Dave Hawk had a well-thought out plan to kill his ex-wife.
Larry Crouch, Prosecutor: "Our theory is that he entered the house attempted to subdue her with a stun gun so he could remove her from the house without leaving traces of struggle or blood or anything of that nature."
Crouch says Hawk even admitted to investigators later that the stun gun found at his house didn't work. But Hawk's attorney says there is no proof that Dave Hawk even used the stun gun on Debbie Hawk.
Mark Coleman, Dave Hawk's attorney: "They didn't find it until after the 3rd search, he voluntarily, he agreed to a search the night that Debbie ... disappeared.
Coleman says with no DNA evidence to prove Dave Hawk murdered Debbie, it will be hard for prosecutors to convict him. And he believes his client cannot get a fair trial in Kings County.
Mark Coleman: "People in the community have already made their decision I think with regards to him being guilty you read the strings attached to your media stories the logs on the websites."
Coleman will likely file the change of venue motion at Hawk's arraignment at the end of the month. That's also when prosecutors say they'll make a motion to combine the murder case with the felony tax evasion and embezzlement charges they've filed against Dave Hawk since both cases have similar evidence. Prosecutors believe Hawk stole more than $300-thousand dollars from his children's trust funds and killed his ex-wife when she took him to court to pay back the money.
With the special circumstances in this case, Hawk is eligible for the death penalty if convicted. But prosecutors tell me they haven't decided if they'll pursue it. Attorneys say the murder trial could begin before the end of this year.
