The trial for Two Dogs Salvatore Fasaga is in recess until Friday, July 28, at which time Judge J. Andrew Toynbee is expected to deliver a verdict in the case.
Fasaga, 43, is facing one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for allegedly murdering Paul Snarski in May 2018.
The first-degree murder charge relies on proving premeditated intent to cause Snarski’s death, while the second-degree murder charge doesn’t require the state to prove premeditation, just that Fasaga assaulted Snarski with the intent to kill him. Both charges are class A felonies with maximum penalties of life in prison.
The reason why prosecutors charged Fasaga with the two separate murder charges was to give Toynbee flexibility in his verdict, according to King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jacqueline Lawrence, who prosecuted the case alongside fellow King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matei Stroescu.
Toynbee heard both parties’ closing arguments the morning of Friday, July 21 and will spend the next week considering all of the evidence and testimony presented in court during the trial, which began Tuesday, July 11.
Fasaga is accused of fatally shooting Snarski, also known as “Hound,” with a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol at Fasaga’s Onalaska residence late on May 11 or May 12, 2018, then dismembering Snarski’s body and having other dispose of Snarski’s remains, vehicle and shoes, according to court documents.
Snarski was 40 years old at the time of his death. He was last seen alive on May 11, 2018, when he reportedly left his Auburn residence to spend Mother’s Day with his mom in Oregon, according to court documents.
Snarski’s brother reported him missing on May 29, 2018, starting an investigation into his disappearance.
“Mr. Snarski’s friends and family waited 14 months and six days before they found out whether Mr. Snarski was dead or alive,” King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jacqueline Lawrence said during the prosecution’s closing argument on Friday.
In July 2018, Snarski’s vehicle was found abandoned at a Federal Way apartment complex, according to charging documents. In June 2019, Snarski’s shoes and a latex glove with Fasaga’s DNA on it were found near Fasaga’s grandmother’s house in unincorporated Thurston County, according to court documents.
One subject, identified as Justin Smith, allegedly dumped a box given to him by Fasaga near Federal Way then, when neighbors complained, the subject allegedly moved the container to a remote area of Pierce County. Law enforcement searched the area described by Smith in June 2019 and found the remains of Snarski’s torso and legs scattered throughout the woods.
Snarski’s head and arms were still unaccounted for as of Friday.
Law enforcement interviewed a witness associated with Fasaga, identified as Rachel Donnelly, multiple times throughout the investigation and eventually gained an eyewitness account of Snarski’s murder from her, according to prosecutors.
In her testimony during the trial, Donnelly relayed the events of May 11, 2018 from her point of view, describing seeing Fasaga enter the Onalaska residence while she and Snarski were inside, point a gun up at Snarski’s face and shoot him in the head, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Fasaga, Donnelly and another witness identified as DJ Lancaster then thoroughly cleaned the residence before Lancaster left to dispose of Snarski’s vehicle and Donnelly stayed with Fasaga for the next two months until they were both arrested in July 2018 for alleged involvement in an unrelated incident.
Fasaga’s defense attorneys, Peter T. Connick and Peter T. Geisness, argued throughout the trial that Donnelly’s testimony is not credible due to her criminal background and evidence proving she lied to law enforcement repeatedly throughout the investigation.
Geisness reiterated that argument during the defense’s closing statement, stating, “Everything comes down to Rachel Donnelly. In order for any of this to have any meaning, you have to believe Rachel Donnelly.”
Geisness argued Donnelly created an “ever-evolving story” in order to incriminate Fasaga and argued there was no physical evidence at the scene that proved Fasaga was connected to Snarski’s death, or even that Snarski died there.
He additionally argued the state failed in its responsibility to have forensic testing done on every piece of evidence collected, such as a small blood stain found in the Onalaska residence in 2019, and for failing to require Lancaster, who refused to speak with law enforcement during the investigation, to appear in court as a witness.
“It’s the state’s duty to completely investigate a case and their failure to do so needs to be held against them,” Geisness said Friday.
In the state’s closing statement and counter argument to the defense’s statement, Lawrence argued the forensic evidence and detective work by law enforcement corroborates much of Donnelly’s testimony and thus lends to her credibility.
Addressing Donnelly’s behavior after the incident and her decision to stay with and help Fasaga, Lawrence said “It’s weird. It’s weird that she did those things … but I would submit to the court that Ms. Donnelly is a survivor,” adding Donnelly chose to “make herself a resource to Mr. Fasaga so he wouldn’t kill her like he did Mr. Snarski.”
Regarding the physical evidence, Lawrence stated, “Don’t cut him (Fasaga) a break just because he did a good job cleaning up.” She pointed to a key piece of physical evidence: a large blood stain found in the subfloor of the Onalaska residence right under the spot where Donnelly claimed Snarski fell when he was shot. Forensic testing has matched that blood to Snarski.
“What he (Fasaga) couldn’t clean up was the subfloor, because he didn’t rip up his flooring,” Lawrence said Friday.
Fasaga himself chose to testify in his own defense on Thursday and stated he and Snarski “have never had any conflict” and, when presented a photo of the alleged murder weapon, said “I’ve never seen that gun, ever, in my life.” He claimed the first time he saw the weapon was when he was presented a photo of it by law enforcement as part of an unrelated July 2018 case.
In her testimony, Donnelly stated the gun belonged to Fasaga and she kept it near her during the months they were together after the alleged murder, even sautering it to fix it when it began malfunctioning.
“The only reason Rachel Donnelly knows what that gun looks like is because it belongs to Mr. Fasaga,” Lawrence argued Friday, adding that much of Fasaga’s testimony could not be corroborated by evidence.
Lawrence additionally referenced Fasaga’s demeanor during his testimony on Thursday, during which Fasaga focused heavily on the pun in the name on one of his social media profiles, “Richard Slanger,” and was laughing and making jokes, according to Lawrence.
Lawrence concluded her statement Friday by showing a screenshot of a post made to Fasaga’s Facebook page on June 26, 2018, where he posted a selfie with the caption “Contemplating should I let you live or …?”
Toynbee struck down the defense’s motion to strike the photo’s caption from evidence. The defense had argued it was not relevant to the current case.
