GUILTY MI - Florence Unger, 37, murdered, Benzie County, 24 Oct 2003

[NoraLee]

Link to Detroit Free Press about Unger defense resting case:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060608/NEWS11/60608008

Link to Detroit News -- June 8, 2006:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060608/UPDATE/606080451

Thursday, June 08, 2006



Defense rests without Unger taking stand

mike martindale / The Detroit News





BEULAH -- The defense rested its case today in a six-week murder trial without calling the defendant, Mark Unger, to the witness stand.

Unger, 45, of Huntington Woods, is on trial for first-degree murder in the October 25, 2003 death of his wife, Florence, 37, whom investigators believe was pushed or kicked off a boathouse deck during an argument over their pending divorce. It has been alleged that Unger then dragged her unconscious body to Lower Herring Lake, where she was found floating face down the next morning.

Unger has said he was on the deck on the night of Oct. 24 with his wife, but told police he left to tuck their two sons into bed at a nearby cottage. He told police that when he returned to the deck his wife was gone and he went back to their cottage where he fell asleep.

While lacking direct evidence -- such as an eyewitness or incriminating statement from Unger -- the prosecution presented a complex circumstantial case that relied heavily on forensic experts, physical evidence and witness testimony about both the Ungers.

 

[Bobbisangel]

This is a link to the Traverse City Record Eagle before the preliminary trial in 2004:

http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/jul/07unger.htm

There is a paragraph that says:
>> Another friend, Gary Scholnick, said he had lunch with Florence Unger a day before her death and she told him she was headed north with her husband on the advice of her divorce attorney, who said it was important for the couple's children and for the divorce proceedings.<<

Why would an attorney advise his client to take a trip with a hostile almost-ex-husband?

Nancy Grace covered this story tonight. I don't think that anyone can understand why in the world her divorce attorney recommended her going off with him like that. That is insane to me. I wonder how that attorney feels now. It was also said that Florence had wanted a divorce for a long time. She had been having an affair with a friend of theirs who was also a neighbor. I guess he had taken the stand at some point. That was no doubt a bone of contention between Florence and her husband. Beings the divorce was in the works there is no reason on earth why they should have spent any time together like that.

It sounds to me that this husband...in his mind...had every reason to want to get rid of his wife. The affair added insult to injury as the man was not only a neighbor but a friend of his. There were two children who would have been affected by a divorce and there was also a quarter million life insurance policy on Florence.

If she had fallen through the rail and onto the cement below then how did she get into the water? They say that it was the fall that killed her as her face was crushed among other things. How could she have gotten to the water if the fall killed her? How could she have gotten to the water anyway with the exception of him picking her up or dragging her and throwing her in.

I also wonder why his children haven't lived with him since the death of their mother? I wonder if the older child thinks his dad is guilty? Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is...he says that he went up to the cabin to tuck the kids into bed. Is he saying that the kids were left alone while him and his wife were quite a ways away from the cabin? They weren't that old at the time and it was dark out. Why wouldn't they have waited until the kids were asleep to go sit on the deck or whatever it was?

I think he killed her because he didn't want a divorce and because of the affair she had. I hope he is found guilty and doesn't get away with murder. Florence was such a beautiful woman in the pictures that I have seen. I'm not sure what she ever saw in her husband!

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit News Link -- June 9, 2006

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060609/METRO/606090301

The pictures are interesting -- Unger never looks worried [to me].

Here's the first paragraph of the story by Mike Martindale:
>>BEULAH -- Despite resting his case Thursday, Mark Unger's defense attorney said he will pursue information he believes that has been improperly withheld by officials and could help exonerate his client for his wife's murder.<<

The real killers are out there!!!! Oy.

Detroit Free Press article -- June 9, 2006
"Unger jury is told not to discuss the case."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060609/NEWS06/606090478&SearchID=73247134030508

 

[CyberLaw]

Remember O.J. he vowed to get the person who killed Ron and Nicole......but for some reason it has never materialized.

Just "smoke and mirrors" of a defense attorney who does not have a strong case.

I have no doubt that Flo's body just did not happen to find its way into the water.

Mark pushed her, moved the body for a)so no one would be able to determine that from her position and the condition of the rail that he pushed her or b)that he wanted to ensure that she was dead, so he moved her to the water, so if she was still breathing, she would not be.

Please don't blame defence attorney's for the conduct of Mark. Please again, do not expect attorney to have a crystal ball into what Mark may or may not have done. It is not the fault of the attorney, for advising and looking out for the best interest of their clients.

If Flo did not go away that weekend, then it could have been used against her in court, so he was in a catch 22 position. She was "concerned" about going away with Mark, but she was more concerned about her kids and Mark's threat to "take the kids" away.

So in the best interest of the children, now and in the future and in consideration of the "custody" battle, she went away with him for the weekend........

No one has a crystal ball, no one knows what a criminal is thinking, especially a drug addicted, horrible person like Mark......

Put the blame where it lies....Mark Unger........

 

[Bobbisangel]

I do blame her attorney for suggesting that she go away with Mark for the weekend. I have never heard of such a thing in my life and I know a lot of people who are divorced. When you reach the stage of filing for a divorce that is the time to let your attorneys handle everything. A lot of people have a battle over the kids. You don't go away for the weekend to try and smooth things out. When you go away for the weekend that only gives the husband hope. It's like a little honeymoon and it gives them the hope that maybe things can be worked out. It's wrong and it just makes matters worse as witnessed by what happened on this little honeymoon. We tend to listen to the advice of our attorney. Most attorney's tell you that they will handle everything. If a woman is afraid of her husband it can even be setup to have him pick the children up at someone elses house or even the police department. It was bizzare for the attorney to tell Flo to go away for the weekend with that creep. That attorney had to have known everything this guy was mixed up in.

I just hope that this guy doesn't walk away from this. I hate to think of him raising those young boys after he murdered their mother.

I think the Flo looked so much like the gal on "Crossing Jordan" only Flo was much prettier.

 

[NoraLee]

I agree, Bobbi.

Besides Nancy Grace and local Detroit news, have you seen this story talked about anywhere? It would have been an interesting trial to see on CourtTV.

Being a bit cynical here, but if Florence was 10 years younger, would the story have gotten more coverage? I'm thinking since I am interested in the case, it's just me that thinks that. I know there are a lot of stories throughout the world to be talked about.

At least it is being followed up on -- I hate it when you hear an interesting story [about anything] and you never hear a follow-up.

 

[NoraLee]

Trial resumes tomorrow with closing arguments. According to WDIV-tv, the case should go to the jury Friday.

 

[CyberLaw]

Man and women divorcing. He wants revenge upon her because of course, she is not leaving him for another man.

His lawyer says: Well if you "leave" the family home, that would and could be used against you as you are "abandoning" the children. Then your "chances" of obtaining custody of the kids would be diminished.

So during the divorce, he stays in the house with the kids........and his soon to be ex wife. They are divorcing, but he is still in the same house, specifically to lead to his goal of "taking the kids away from his wife".

Unless you are a lawyer, you have no, and I mean no idea what the courts will and won't view in light of the conduct of parents. But lawyers do.......that is why they are lawyers......

Trust me, if she did not go away, that would be used in court against her.....no doubt. Every step has to be very carefully calculated to ensure the courts see Flo as a "equal" parents in the eyes of the court. Since Mark was intent on obtaining full custody of the kids, everything Flo did would be open to intense observation. Everything.

Flo may not be seen in a good light if she did not "project" that her kids came before and her "suspicions" that her husband may not be a nice guy.

After all he had not comitted any violent act against her or the kids at this point and the courts may use that facts against her.

When it comes to ensuring your kids are not with a type of husband like this, a whole game plan has to be made, every step, everything has to be carefully analyzed. Planned out......

Unfortunately, Mark knew this from his lawyer, that is probably why he planned the trip, knowing that Flo would have to go, he put her in a catch 22 and he knew it and used this to harm her.......in the guise of a trip for the kids.........

He seems like the kind of guy that would "twist" advice given to him by his lawyer to his own advantage and to harm his wife.

So unless you are a lawyer, practice family law, have years of experience in divorce, custody of children......you may want to second guess the advice of a lawyer, but in the end, no one could "foresee" what Mark had in mind for this trip.

The Lawyers crystal ball was in for repairs that day......

 

[NoraLee]

Link to Detroit News AP article -- June 14, 2006
[short summary of trial]
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_HUSBAND_CHARGED_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit Free Press -- June 14, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/NEWS99/60614002

Detroit News -- June 14, 2006
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/UPDATE/606140440
Prosecutor recaps Unger case in closing arguments

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

BEULAH -- A Huntington Woods man on trial for his wife's October 2003 death has told stories that don't add up, was uncooperative with police after her body was found floating face down in a northern Michigan lake and showed a general lack of interest in her death, a prosecutor told a Benzie Circuit Court jury today.

Assistant Michigan Attorney General Donna L. Pendergast made the comments in her closing arguments in the case against Mark Unger, 45, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Florence, 37.

Pendergast recapped the prosecution's version of what investigators believed happened: that the Ungers argued over their pending divorce while on a 12-foot high boathouse deck, she fell and landed on her head, and he attempted to disguise any involvement in the death by staging an accident scene, including dragging her unconscious body into the lake.

The Ungers were getting a divorce and four days earlier had met with their attorneys over child custody and other matters. Unger told investigators he had been with his wife on the deck the night before she was found but went to check on their two sons and fell asleep in a nearby cottage. He said he looked for his wife once but saw she was gone so he went to bed. The next morning he found his wife had never returned.

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit News -- June 14, 2006
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/UPDATE/606140448
Unger defense tells jury death was tragic accident

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

BEULAH -- A defense attorney for a Huntington Woods man charged with his wife's 2003 death told a Benzie Circuit Court jury Wednesday that a series of events, including the zeal of police to investigate a perceived crime, ultimately led to his client being charged with first-degree murder.


Attorney Robert S. Harrison's client, Mark Unger, 45, is on trial regarding his wife's Oct. 25, 2003 death at a northern Michigan lakeside resort. Harrison is to conclude his closing on Thursday.

A jury heard closing arguments from both the prosecution and defense attorneys on Wednesday in preparation for deciding Unger's innocence or guilt in the death of Florence Unger, 37. She was found floating face down in Lower Herring Lake at the Inn of Watervale resort, about 10 miles south of Frankfort.

Harrison has maintained Florence Unger's death was a tragic accident that happened without any involvement by his client. Harrison said police investigators were too busy trying to prove a criminal case involving either homicide or suicide based on mistakes or misunderstandings made by a police dispatcher and Maggie Duncan, a Watervale cottage owner who found the body and called police.

"Her mistake -- that a woman may have been suicidal -- sent in motion a series of mistakes that snowballed against Mark Unger," said Harrison. "They (investigators) got there and said 'Baloney, no one commits suicide like that.' Even if it is a death trap out there."

 

[Bobbisangel]

I agree, Bobbi.

Besides Nancy Grace and local Detroit news, have you seen this story talked about anywhere? It would have been an interesting trial to see on CourtTV.

Being a bit cynical here, but if Florence was 10 years younger, would the story have gotten more coverage? I'm thinking since I am interested in the case, it's just me that thinks that. I know there are a lot of stories throughout the world to be talked about.

At least it is being followed up on -- I hate it when you hear an interesting story [about anything] and you never hear a follow-up.

No, Nancy's show is the only one that I've heard anything about this case on and I usually watch Nancy, Dan Abrams, Rita Cosby, and Greta V.S. I hadn't thought about it before but the media does tend to focus on the younger generation. This would have been a good trial for CTV to have followed.
I think Susan Polk's trial would have been another one for CTV. Instead half of the time they show trials that they have already covered. Makes me want to scream.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Man and women divorcing. He wants revenge upon her because of course, she is not leaving him for another man.

His lawyer says: Well if you "leave" the family home, that would and could be used against you as you are "abandoning" the children. Then your "chances" of obtaining custody of the kids would be diminished.

So during the divorce, he stays in the house with the kids........and his soon to be ex wife. They are divorcing, but he is still in the same house, specifically to lead to his goal of "taking the kids away from his wife".

Unless you are a lawyer, you have no, and I mean no idea what the courts will and won't view in light of the conduct of parents. But lawyers do.......that is why they are lawyers......

Trust me, if she did not go away, that would be used in court against her.....no doubt. Every step has to be very carefully calculated to ensure the courts see Flo as a "equal" parents in the eyes of the court. Since Mark was intent on obtaining full custody of the kids, everything Flo did would be open to intense observation. Everything.

Flo may not be seen in a good light if she did not "project" that her kids came before and her "suspicions" that her husband may not be a nice guy.

After all he had not comitted any violent act against her or the kids at this point and the courts may use that facts against her.

When it comes to ensuring your kids are not with a type of husband like this, a whole game plan has to be made, every step, everything has to be carefully analyzed. Planned out......

Unfortunately, Mark knew this from his lawyer, that is probably why he planned the trip, knowing that Flo would have to go, he put her in a catch 22 and he knew it and used this to harm her.......in the guise of a trip for the kids.........

He seems like the kind of guy that would "twist" advice given to him by his lawyer to his own advantage and to harm his wife.

So unless you are a lawyer, practice family law, have years of experience in divorce, custody of children......you may want to second guess the advice of a lawyer, but in the end, no one could "foresee" what Mark had in mind for this trip.

The Lawyers crystal ball was in for repairs that day......

Was Flo leaving her husband for another man? I didn't hear that. I knew that she had had an affair with the neighbor but that was it. Were Flo and Unger still living in the same house? If they had been living in the same house why the need to go away together with the children? They could have just talked at home.

Because Flo followed her attorney's advice so as to not lose her children to Unger...she is now dead...the boys have no mother and they probably won't have a father either. Unger will probably spend years in prison...I hope. That was a big mistake. Sometimes common sense has to reign. Especially when the husband is into some pretty heavy drugs. It's so sad because she didn't want to go. If she hadn't listened to her attorney she would be alive today.

When things are volitile in a marriage I wouldn't take the risk of going away for the weekend with someone that I wanted away from. I wouldn't live in the same house with my husband either. Maybe things work differently in different states but I have never heard of such a thing and I know couples just like this couple who fought over their children and things got real ugly.
Never were they told to go away together for the weekend and talk things over....for the children's sake.

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit News article -- June 15, 2006

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/UPDATE/606150462

Defense rips into prosecution murder case against Mark Unger

mike martindale / The Detroit News


BEULAH -- A defense attorney for a Huntington Woods man charged with the 2003 murder of his wife at a northern Michigan resort ripped into the prosecution's circumstantial case today.

Mark Unger, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in the October 25, 2003 death of his wife, Florence, 37, found floating face down in Lower Herring Lake at the Inn of Watervale resort, 10 miles south of Frankfort.

Investigators believe the Ungers, who were in the midst of a divorce, had an argument and that she was pushed or fell off a boathouse deck. Prosecutors contend that Unger put her unconscious body into the lake where it was found the following morning.

In closing remarks today, defense attorney Robert S. Harrison noted how on the night before the body was found, the Ungers were sitting on the boathouse deck and introduced themselves to a stranger, Fred Oeflein, who lived on the lake. Oeflein, had earlier told the jury how he met the couple and Florence told him she could never boat across the lake at night because she was afraid of the dark.

"You would have to be stupid or nuts to try and kill your wife at that moment," said Harrison. "You would have to be a fool to tell police that Florence told you to check on the kids while she waited on the deck.

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit Free Press -- June 15, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/NEWS11/60615004

State has "no real evidence'' Unger's lawyer says

Defense continue closing arguments in murder trial

June 15, 2006


By FRANK WITSIL

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER



BEULAH -- In his closing argument Thursday, defense attorney Robert Harrison told the jury that the prosecution has no "real evidence" to prove its case, and it defies common sense for Mark Unger to be on the deck at the Watervale resort with his wife, introduce himself to a stranger and then commit a murder.

"You'd have to be stupid or nuts to kill your wife at that moment," Harrison said.

Unger, 45, of Huntington Woods, is on trial, charged with first-degree murder in Benzie County Circuit Court.

The prosecution said that Unger was a self-centered man who forced his 37 year-old wife, Florence Unger, off a 12-foot-high deck and then drowned her. The Ungers were in the middle of a divorce and went to Watervale, a northern Michigan resort, on Oct. 24, 2003, with their two young sons. Florence Unger's body was found the next morning floating in Lower Herring Lake.

The defense has said the death was an accident.

Harrison began his closing argument Wednesday afternoon, gently trying to create doubt in the jurors' minds before they begin deliberations. By Thursday afternoon, he was attacking the prosecution's case, arguing that it was weak -- and failed to prove a crime was committed. He said that the prosecution's own medical experts disagreed about the cause of death.

This is the last time Harrison will be able to adress the jury before it begins deliberating.

When he is finished, the prosecution, led by Assistant Attorney General Donna Pendergast, will have an opportunity to respond. Then, Judge James Batzer will give the jury instructions and deliberations will begin.

 

[NoraLee]

Link to AP story in Detroit News -- June 15, 2006:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_HUSBAND_CHARGED_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
"Affair might have caused Florence Unger's distress, attorney says"

 

[NoraLee]

AP story -- Jun 15, 6:45 PM EDT --
"Attorneys wrap up final arguments in murder trial"

>>After closing arguments, Batzer dismissed one juror who is scheduled to leave next week on a long-planned trip to Alaska. The juror, who declined to speak with reporters, was escorted by a sheriff's deputy to his pickup truck.
Two other jurors will be designated as alternates and dismissed Friday, leaving 12 to decide Unger's fate.<<

 

[NoraLee]

Detroit News -- June 16, 2006

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/UPDATE/606150473
Jury to weigh Unger murder case

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

BEULAH -- Closing arguments in a Huntington Woods man's murder trial concluded Thursday with a prosecutor holding up for a Benzie Circuit Court jury two photographs of Florence Unger: one of her smiling into the camera, the other of her lying in the morgue.

Mark Unger, 45, is on trial for first-degree murder in the October 25, 2003 death of his wife, Florence, 37, at a northern Michigan resort.

Defense attorney Robert S. Harrison ripped into the prosecution's case as "red herrings" and "the worst kind of circumstantial evidence" and unloaded on the Benzie Circuit Court jury with his explanations of what happened.

The jury has been hearing the case against Mark Unger since April 26.

"My point to you is anyone can go in the wrong direction if they are given wrong information," Harrison told the jury of eight men and seven women. "… This case was in the trash can of the courthouse before it was even started. There are a number of questions that can't be answered fully -- on both sides.

 

[NoraLee]

AP story -- June 16, 2006
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_HUSBAND_CHARGED_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jurors begin deliberations.

 

[CyberLaw]

bobbiangel's:

So do you think that people hire attorneys, so they will "disregard" their legal advice. If that is the case, then of course, the person going to the attorney, went to law school, right? They know more then the attorney, when it comes to "custody" and "divorce issues"

Of course the client knows more and has better advice then the attorney, that is why they go and hire them at a "very high" price, to "second guess" a person who went to school for seven years and passed the bar......

If Mark did not kill Flo on the "vacation" he would have devised another way.

Trust me when I say that "this was well thought" out and planned by Mark, manipulated by Mark, and he knew "exactly" why Flo would "be coerced" into doing so, because he knew that if she did not go away, he would gain the advantage in child custody matters. He counted on this...because he knew that she would not allow him any "advantage" when it came to the kids, as he had already stated that he was going to take them away from her.

He knew that the kids meant the world to her and that she would put the kids first and foremost ahead of her, despite her reservations about the weekend.........he knew and counted on this and used this to his advantage to harm his wife to seek revenge for her "seeking" a Divorce.

Used his kids as pawns to harm his wife, unfortunately it happens too many times......

Mark left his kids without a Mother, the attorney did not.

I know he is guilty, everyone on this thread knows he is guilty, but...the defence has scored points......and presented a compelling case, lets just hope not compelling enough.

Again a lawyer is hired by a client for legal advice, they have no idea what a murderous husband would do, neither did Flo. She did not go on this trip "knowing" that her non violent husband would kill her.

No one did.....

No one can foresee the future, there was no "evidence" of the foreseeabilty of Marks action......only Mark knew what Mark wanted to do.....

Just like when the courts grant "access" and visitation to kids, and the husband "takes" the kids and goes on the lam.

Should the Judge now be blamed........lawyers blamed. The Dad was a normal regular person, now he is on the run from the law......

Or a wife meets with a "non violent" husband to "hand over the kids for visitation" and he shoots her....again is it the "mediators" fault, the "judges" fault, the legal systems fault, or the "personal responsibility" of the person who committed the crime.