Trial to begin for man accused of killing daughters

DALLAS -- After 12 weeks of jury selection, testimony was set to begin today in the capital murder trial of a man accused of fatally shooting his two young daughters while their mother listened on the telephone.

John Battaglia hasn't publicly admitted or denied shooting 9-year-old Faith Battaglia and 6-year-old Liberty Battaglia on May 2. A plea was to be entered Monday before the start of testimony.

Battaglia's attorneys have filed a notice reserving the right to claim their client is innocent by reason of insanity, court reporter Mary Belton said, but experts call it a risky strategy since Battaglia doesn't have a documented history of severe mental illness.

"The chance of a jury finding he was legally insane at the time of the offense is zero to none in his case," said Barry Sorrels, a 20-year criminal defense attorney not involved in the case. "The hope of anything short of the death sentence is just not realistic."

Experts noted the case of Andrea Yates, the Houston woman convicted of drowning her children in a bathtub. Even with her history of severe mental illness, she was found guilty.

Battaglia had a history of domestic violence, and at the time of the girls' deaths authorities were preparing to ask a judge to revoke his two-year probation for assaulting his ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle. The request alleged that Battaglia had violated conditions of the probation, which barred him from contacting her.

On the evening of the shootings, Battaglia was to have taken his children to dinner. Instead, he phoned his former mother-in-law and asked to have his ex-wife call him. Pearle told police that when she called Battaglia, he had Faith ask her, "Why are you trying to put Daddy in jail?"

The girl was next heard saying "No, Daddy, don't do it. No, Daddy, no," followed by a burst of gunfire. Pearle called police, who broke into Battaglia's apartment and found the girls' bodies, along with handguns, shotguns and rifles. Battaglia was arrested hours later several blocks from home, after getting a tattoo on his left arm of two flowers he said represented his daughters. A loaded pistol was found in his vehicle.

In an interview last June, Battaglia said he had been feeling overwhelmed because of fights with his ex-wife and his workload.