Jesse Matthew hearing held at Albemarle County Circuit court
Motions granted, status review date set
by Chloe Heskett and Katie Grimesey | Mar 04 2015 | 1 hour ago
The Albemarle County Circuit court granted two motions filed by the defense in the case of the Commonwealth v. Jesse Matthew.
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Defense attorney Jim Hingeley addressed the court regarding both motions. The first motion filed was to appoint a DNA expert to examine evidence, and the second was for a continuance of trial.
Hingeley said the requests were based on the need for funding to be authorized by the court as well as additional time needed to find and appoint an expert. The defense does “not have someone in mind,’ Hingeley said.
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“It’s not just a matter of getting an expert,” Hingeley said. “There are some items that have DNA evidence in them that have not yet been analyzed by the Commonwealth.”
Hingeley said the time-table for identifying a DNA expert and analyzing the evidence is uncertain, and the current trial date set for June is too early.
Murder trial in U-Va. student Hannah Graham’s slaying delayed
By T. Rees Shapiro March 4 at 1:01 PM
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The trial against Matthew was originally scheduled to begin in late June, but Higgins slated a status hearing for May 5 to set a new date for the trial, which is expected to last three weeks.
One of Matthew’s lawyers, public defender James Hingeley, said in court that the delay would allow the defense time to hire an expert witness to analyze DNA evidence gathered in the Graham case. Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford said that her case will rely on DNA evidence at trial, and she said scientists are continuing to analyze evidence. She said previously that prosecutors plan to call 52 witnesses during the trial.