According to a state attorney's closing memo, Brandon Marshall may have played justice like an opposing cornerback.
Not only did the Miami Dolphins receiver escape charges in an April 22 domestic violence incident that left his wife with cuts and bruises -- as well as aggravated assault charges that were later dropped -- he reportedly eluded process servers for weeks before ripping up a subpoena and throwing it to the ground.
In the end, it seems conflicting accounts, a lack of cooperation, and insufficient evidence led Assistant State Attorney Sarahnell Murphy to decline prosecution in the bloody fight at Marshall's Southwest Ranches home.
According to her closing memo, written August 18 and first obtained by the South Florida Times, Marshall told Murphy in a statement that it was his dog who ripped a phone from the wall after his wife's 911 call, his own stab wound was received when he fell "multiple times" on broken glass, and his wife's injuries must have been sustained while "training/kickboxing."
It was a conversation that Marshall tried to avoid and then reschedule, according to Murphy.
She wrote that when assault charges against Marshall's wife Michi Nogami-Marshall were first presented, she had "concerns about whether or not the events in this case transpired in the manner in which they were reported."
As such, Murphy attempted "numerous" times to serve Marshall with a subpoena, then requested a voluntary statement through his attorney.
"I was told unequivocally by Brandon Marshall's attorney 'that was never going to happen'," she wrote. "Brandon Marshall would not cooperate with this investigation in any manner."
Murphy's doubts about the case stemmed from the fact it was Nogami-Marshall who called 911 for help, a lack of "logical" explanation for her injuries, the phone used to call 911 being ripped from the wall, Marshall's injuries appearing inconsistent with his explanations, and items in the home being moved or changed before police arrived, according to her report.
When Marshall appeared in a Broward court June 10 on a violation of a court-imposed no contact order, he was finally served with the subpoena requiring him to give a statement.
"Shortly after being served," Murphy wrote, "Brandon Marshall tore the subpoena into pieces and threw it on the ground."
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When Murphy eventually took the statement on June 20, Marshall "had many lapses in memory when asked about speficics of the events of that day," Murphy wrote.
"When I asked why [Nogami-Marshall told police she acted in self-defense], his answer was she told him she was being a 'smartass.'"
Murphy's attempts to take a statement from Nogami-Marshall were also rebuffed by her attorney, according to the memo, though Murphy notes Nogami-Marshall had "an absolute right" not to speak with her.
Among reasons Murphy gave for dropping charges was a comment Nogami-Marshall made to a friend in a jail call: "He attacked me."
"Brandon Marshall's explanation of the the events does not refute self-defense," Murphy wrote. "...Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to file any criminal charge, as there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction the prosecution of this matter must be declined."
Marshall said while announcing a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder several weeks ago that his marriage may not survive, "and that hurts me."
