It was like a reunion.
Kathleen Reeves, Donna Witmer and Natalie Holley met five years ago at the trials of the man accused of killing their three daughters.
But as Oscar Ray Bolin Jr.'s retrial Tuesday brought them together again under the same grim circumstances, the accused serial killer's big concern was his desire to wear designer underwear.
The controversy started off a day that included jury selection and accusations by a prosecutor of a "close relationship" between Bolin and defense team member Rosalie Martinez, who calls herself Bolin's "guardian angel."
"It's disrespectful," said Reeves, whose daughter, 26-year-old Teri Lynn Matthews, was killed in 1986. Like the other women, Reeves wore a golden angel pin on her lapel as a show of solidarity.
"We have our own angel," Witmer explained. Her daughter, Stephanie Ann Collins, was 17 when she was killed in 1986.
The underwear incident started over an outfit Bolin got from Martinez, who has spent the past 18 months trying to prove Bolin not guilty of the three murders.
For the trial Tuesday, Martinez brought Bolin a glen plaid Armani suit - a hand-me-down from her husband, prominent Tampa attorney Victor Martinez - and a handkerchief, tie, belt and socks. The suit had been tailored for Bolin.
Included in the package was a pair of Brooks Brothers cotton briefs.
Pasco corrections officers gave Bolin the clothes but refused to let Bolin wear the briefs. Sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said underwear is a "personal effect" that inmates are not allowed to receive from friends or family members.
Bolin then took off his own standard-issue white cotton jail boxers and tore them up, Powers said.
"While sitting in the cell naked, he informed us that he wasn't going to court because he couldn't wear his Brooks Brothers jockey shorts," Powers said.
When Judge William R. Webb learned of the situation, he moved quickly to put a stop to the "foolishness."
"I'm going to order the Sheriff's Office to use all reasonable force necessary to dress the defendant," Webb said. "That can include no underwear as far as I'm concerned. I'm only concerned with what the jury sees."
Bolin complied peacefully when corrections officers went back to confront him, Powers said, putting on his suit and tie - minus underwear.
"I'm sure he will avail himself of some new underwear as soon as he gets back to jail," Powers said.
The incident also led to questions about Martinez after Assistant Public Defender Paul Firmani asked Webb to allow Martinez to sit at the defense table.
Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis said he was worried about the "close relationship" between Martinez and Bolin, mentioning a story about them that appeared in the Times in June.
"There's a little concern I have for safety reasons if we allow Ms. Martinez to be in close contact with Mr. Bolin," he said.
In an interview after Webb denied the motion, Martinez lashed out, calling Halkitis a liar.
"I'm embarrassed for him that he would take a lady with a family and insinuate such horrible things," said Martinez, who vowed to file a Bar complaint against Halkitis.
"He slandered my good name," she said. "I'm not a witness and I'm not on trial."
