Judge warns emotional outburst in quadruple murder trial could create mistrial

TACOMA, Wash. - On Wednesday, emotions in the 2021 Tacoma quadruple murder trial got so high it led to an outburst the judge warned could create a mistrial.

Family and friends of the victims screamed profanities at the defendant, Maleke Pate, during emotional testimony from a witness.

Pate is charged with four counts of murder for the Oct. 2021 killings of 42-year-old Maria Nunez-Iese, her son, 19-year-old Emery Iese, Nunez-Iese’s brother 22-year-old Raymond Williams, and Williams’ girlfriend, 22-year-old Natasha Brincefield.

Several people stormed out of the courtroom following the outburst.

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Pierce County Superior Court Judge Susan Adams asked the jury and the witness to leave as well, then spoke to the remaining audience.

"This is clearly a very, very emotional situation for everyone, but this is a courtroom, and there must be decorum in the courtroom," said Adams. "Outbursts like that could lead to a mistrial and having to do this all over again. I don’t think anyone here wants that."

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sunni Ko also addressed the family following the incident. She warned that a mistrial could mean another year before there is any sort of justice.

The outburst was the tipping point of what had already been an emotional day.

The immediate family members of several of the victims took the witness stand throughout the hearing.

"Every morning I leave for work, I wake Emery up to lock the door. That morning, I didn’t wake him up because he was doing boxing, and working, and he just went to bible study with me, and I didn’t want to wake him up. So, I just kissed his forehead and I left," said Lauvule Iese.

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Iese’s wife, Maria, son, Emery, brother-in-law, Raymond, and friend, Natasha, were murdered.

Following Iese's testimony, the prosecution played 911 audio of the moments immediately following the deadly shooting.

In the audio recording, the 911 caller, Danielle Monesmith, recounted the terrifying story of watching her friends get murdered outside of her home.

"It looked like [Emery Iese] was begging for his life, from what I saw. It looked like he was just saying the words ‘No.’ He was shaking his hands ‘no.’ He was waving his hands ‘no,’" said Monesmith.

The defense did not ask the witness or family members of the victims any cross-examination questions. The only questions defense attorney, Tarvis Currie, asked were to a South Sound 911 employee. His questions focused on the data from 911 call logs and the authenticity of the information.