This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: sgs14 Surnames: Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.washington.counties.king/3609.3/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The Seattle Times Friday, August 14, 1981 Deaths Constance E. Spellman, 43, Seattle, July 28. The Seattle Times Friday, October 9, 1981 2nd degree murder ruled in barbell killing of woman A King County Superior Court jury yesterday found David Joseph Cirelli guilty of second degree murder for killing a woman with a weight from his barbell set, then dumping her body and setting fire to it. Cirelli, 25, admitted the killing, but said he lashed out in fear when Constance Spellman, 43, came toward him with a meat fork in her hand. Cirelli picked Spellman up at a bar near the Pike Place Market July 29. He said she asked him to buy her a beer, then accepted his offer to go to his home. He said they went to bed and had sexual intercourse. About 1 œ hours later, Spellman started making "strange noises" similar to chanting, Cirelli said. He said she picked up a candle and tried to hit him with it, but he got it away from her. He said she walked into the kitchen, then returned holing the fork and grabbed at his ear. "I thought she was going to stab me with the carving fork," Cirelli testified. He said he picked up an 8.8 pound weight and hit her in the head with it. When she approached him a second time with the fork, he swung again with the weight, hitting her in the head and she fell to the floor, the jurors in Judge James Dore's court were told. Cirelli said he lifted the victim, found that she was not breathing, then panicked. "I didn't know what to do. I just couldn't believe it," he testified. Cirelli said he stayed in the house a few hours, then wrapped a bed sheet around the body, put her in the trunk of his car, drove around Seattle for a few hours, bought gasoline from a service station, drove to the Beacon Coal Mine Road near Tukwila, dumped the body off the roadway near a pile of tires, poured gas on her and set her on fire. Deputy Prosecutor Troy Yancey repeatedly asked Cirelli whether he intended to hit Spellman with the weight. "I didn't want to get stabbed - I was trying to block her," he responded. Cirelli gave his entire testimony slowly and quietly, sometimes in tears. Yancey argued that the only issue in the case was whether Cirelli acted in self-defense. She said he did not and was not justified in using the amount of force he did, considering the fact that Spellman was intoxicated and much smaller than he was. Cirelli was not stabbed or hurt in any way. Yancey said Cirelli took careful, calculated actions after the murder to cover up what he had done, cleaning blood from the house. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.