Lawyer In Messenger Case Files Complaint Against Another Lawyer

Monica Polanco

Apr. 24, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- A lawyer who represented David Messenger -- the man acquitted by reason of "mental disease or mental defect" of killing his pregnant wife, Heather, in 1998 -- has filed a grievance with the Statewide Grievance Committee against a lawyer who briefly represented Messenger in 1998 and wants to represent Heather Messenger's family during a public hearing next month.

In a letter to the grievance committee dated Feb. 12, attorney Kerry Tarpey said that John Klar, a Vermont resident and registered lawyer in Connecticut, has "engaged in conduct which is adverse to the interests of his former client, David Messenger."

Meanwhile, Klar has leveled his own charge -- that Tarpey has a conflict of interest.

Tarpey cited three examples in which she said that Klar violated the rules of professional conduct, including an online news article in 2008 in which Klar described David Messenger by saying: "He's a monkey in a cage and he's going to shake his bars until he gets his way." Klar made the comment after a public hearing at Connecticut Valley Hospital last September, when Messenger's lawyers withdrew their application for Messenger's release from the state psychiatric hospital.

On May 1, the state Psychiatric Security Review Board is scheduled to discuss another application to grant Messenger a temporary leave. Although the state's attorney's office will represent the public during the hearing, Heather Messenger's relatives will be the only members of the public allowed to speak.

Klar, a former Connecticut resident who was friends with David and Heather Messenger when they lived in Chaplin, hopes to represent the victim's family.

In his response to the grievance committee Thursday, Klar said that he represented David Messenger during a "bond only" appearance immediately after Messenger killed Heather. Klar said that at the time, he acted only to refer Messenger to a defense lawyer and to "secure a reasonable and constitutional bond."

Klar wrote that the "bond only" appearance allows lawyers to provide limited representation to defendants without compromising their ability to represent others -- often co-defendants -- who might have a conflict with the accused.

Klar argued that Tarpey -- who handled Messenger's civil matters -- has a conflict because she also served as the executor of Heather Messenger's estate. Klar said that David Messenger received about $217,000 from his wife's estate and an unspecified portion of the $600,000 wrongful death claim against his and Heather's homeowners' insurance policy.

Tarpey declined to comment on the grievance, but denied having a conflict of interest. She said that Probate Judge Michael Ellsworth appointed her as executor in 2003 when the previous administrator of Heather Messenger's estate resigned.

"Any actions that I took in that role were undertaken transparently and with probate court approval," she said.

Christopher Slack, the grievance committee's first assistant bar counsel, said Thursday that he could not comment.

"Because there's no public information available, I could neither confirm nor deny anything about the letter," Slack said, noting that information about grievances becomes public only when the grievance committee determines that misconduct might have occurred.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0083-34389202