A former Nevada attorney general accused of a 1972 Honolulu killing is fighting extradition to Hawaii after appearing in court Wednesday.
Tudor Chirila, 77, claims his constitutional rights were violated after he was arrested last week at a Reno hospital in the killing of 19-year-old Nancy Anderson. Anderson was found in her Waikiki apartment after being stabbed more than 60 times. Police obtained a DNA sample from Chirila earlier this month that tied Chirila to the crime.
“I think if the 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) saw this, they’d throw it out,” Chirila said during his arraignment Wednesday. Chirila presented himself in court in a red jumpsuit while chained with handcuffs to his wheelchair.
“I kept saying this is unconstitutional,” Chirila said. “You’re making me be a witness against myself.”
Chirila then likened himself to former President Trump, saying he had a constitutional right not to give a DNA sample just as Trump had the constitutional right to refuse to answer questions.
The former attorney said officers knocked on his door Sept. 6 with a warrant for a DNA sample. He said officers said they could use force to get one.
Having just undergone eye surgery, Chirila said he was “scared to hell” the officers were going to hit his eye in the process of obtaining the DNA sample. He said he continued to repeat that the act was unconstitutional.
Justice of the Peace Scott Pearson said the officers were allowed to use any reasonable force to obtain the sample. And, while he understood Chirila’s concern, it did not prove to be an “issue in this court.“
Pearson said constitutional arguments would have to be presented in Hawaii court while any complaints regarding the officers’ treatment of Chirila would have to be filed in civil court. The judge ultimately left the decision up to Chirila, while warning that time was of the essence in this case. The longer Chirila waited, the lesser the possibility witnesses would be alive to testify on his behalf.
Pearson also said that, due to Chirila acknowledging he was the person named in the Hawaii arrest warrant, this proved the sole issue to confront in Reno court. Extradition to Hawaii would just be a matter of time as a result.
“Oh, your honor, I want to go to Hawaii,” Chirila told Pearson. “The problem is, I don’t think this arrest was constitutional.”
At the conclusion of his court appearance, Pearson ordered Chirila remain jailed without bail on a fugitive warrant in Reno. Washoe County Deputy District Attorney Amos Stege said he would begin efforts to obtain a governor’s warrant in Hawaii for Chirila’s extradition.
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Pearson said he would appoint Chirila a public defender, with his next hearing scheduled for Oct. 3.
Fox News Digital reached out to Steges’ office for further comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Chirila was arrested without incident Sept. 13 at a hospital after reportedly attempting suicide Sept. 8, two days after officers obtained his DNA sample.
Police were tipped off in the cold case that Chirila could be a suspect in December 2021. The case had already been reopened several times beforehand but to no avail. Honolulu Police said new DNA evidence linked Chirila to the crime scene at Anderson’s apartment.
Chirila had previously served as deputy attorney general following Anderson’s death in the 1970s and later ran for the Nevada Supreme Court in 1994 but lost.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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