Twenty-six-year murder case goes to trial

A woman in turmoil looking for any excuse out of her marriage? Or a woman who feared her safety but was preparing for a new life?Those are the two pictures the defense and prosecution painted in the opening statements for former Placer County Sgt. Paul Kovacich. Kovacich is charged with murder with the enhancement of using a firearm in the Sept. 8, 1982 disappearance and murder of his wife, Janet Kovacich. Paul Kovacich has pleaded not guilty.The case has been pending for 26 years. In 1995, a human skull was found at Lake Rollins in Colfax. In 2007, DNA tests confirmed the skull was that of Janet Kovacich.Prosecutor Suzanne Gazzaniga began her nearly four-and-a-half-hour opening statement by outlining the three key points that she believe will lead the jury of seven men, five women and six alternates to find Paul Kovacich guilty. "Love, control and motive," Gazzaniga said. "The love of a mother, the control of the defendant and the motive to hide a body forever."She said the prosecution's case will rely overwhelmingly on circumstantial evidence."It's a case that spans 26 years," Gazzaniga said. "It's a puzzle and we're going to put that puzzle together for you." Defense attorney John Spurling spent an hour before the jury offering his opening statements. Spurling said that Janet Kovacich had told friends she was looking for an excuse out of the marriage and those friends would testify that "Janet was in turmoil." "She complained that Paul was not outgoing enough," Spurling said. Gazzaniga said the jury would be presented with journals written by Janet and Paul Kovacich in March 1981 when the couple was attending marriage counseling sessions. She said those journals were supportive evidence that Janet Kovacich was a devoted mother. Gazzaniga displayed an excerpt of one of Janet Kovacich's journal entries in which she wrote, "'What are my reasons for wanting to go on living? … But then I just see our children and I know they are my 'for what.'"Spurling in turn highlighted portions of Paul Kovacich's 1981 journal entry in which he described his wife as "The sweetest girl in the world."Gazanniga said witnesses such as neighbors, friends and Janet's brother would testify about the couple's abusive relationship. Spurling asked the jury to consider the other influence affecting the prosecution's witnesses. "While their memory has faded over the years, their biases against Paul have certainly hardened," Spurling said. Gazzaniga said the prosecution will also prove that Janet Kovacich did not commit suicide nor was she randomly abducted. Gazzaniga played audio excerpts from one of the three interviews Paul Kovacich conducted with law enforcement during the initial investigation of Janet's disappearance. The interviews, she said, would show how the defendant was "an incredibly smart man" who used his educational and professional background in criminal studies to murder then hide his wife's body. Spurling said Gazzaniga "curiously left out" a crucial piece of evidence: witnesses saw Kovacich at the gym earlier in the day on Wednesday, Sept. 8. He also stated how Kovacich made at least five phone calls the day his wife disappeared asking her friends and family if they knew where she was."The prosecution would have you believe because of his training, education, and background, Paul is some kind of criminal mastermind," Spurling said. Instead, Spurling said Paul Kovacich was honest and cooperated with police interviews on multiple occasions. Gazzaniga said Paul Kovacich's controlling nature, especially in regard to his "utter hatred" of Janet Kovacich's parents, were among his motives. She showed a portion of Paul Kovacich's journal in which he was writing to Janet Kovacich, "'Your mother makes me sick,'" and "'This woman is evil-sick-ruthless and nuts-o.'" He said Janet Kovacich's parents never approved of Paul Kovacich. Her parents even offered her money to leave Paul Kovacich after they were married, Spurling said. Prior to Janet Kovacich's disappearance, Janet was making changes to her life and "looking forward to the future," Gazzaniga said. She said Janet Kovacich had enrolled in a math class and chemistry class at Sierra College and had recently completed a breast augmentation surgery. She was also looking into transferring her two children into a different school. Gazzaniga also asked the jury to consider what a reasonable person would do when they discovered their wife was missing. Paul Kovacich, she said, did not act as a worried husband would. He continued to work, go to the gym, his kids went to school and didn't actively participate in any search for his wife. He instead blamed his wife's mother for her disappearance, "foul play," a suicide and in a later interview said he thought she was alive but hiding. "Only one person killed Janet Kovacich," Gazzaniga said. "Janet Kovacich was murdered by her husband, Paul Kovacich."Spurling argued that Paul Kovacich was a concerned husband. He said Paul Kovacich was reprimanded for initially participating in the investigation. He said one witness saw Paul Kovacich dirty. When she asked him why, he responded that he was out looking for Janet."All the prosecution can do is guess, speculate as to what happened in this case," Spurling said to the jury. "They're asking you to do the same."The Journal's Jenifer Gee can be reached at jeniferg@goldcountrymedia.com or post a comment at auburnjournal.com.