GUILTY Jennifer Blagg - Re-trial of Michael Blagg 20 February 2018

[Niner]

:tyou: Tortoise for all the updates on this case! I come here every morning to find out what's going on, and

:yourock:

 

[emjones14]

Yes, thanks for the updates. I was in the first jury selection pool but was not selected, so after spending four days listening to to details, I have to keep up now.

 

[Tortoise]

Yes, thanks for the updates. I was in the first jury selection pool but was not selected, so after spending four days listening to to details, I have to keep up now.

Welcome!

How interesting. Relieved or disappointed not to be selected?

Looks like you may have escaped the flu anyway!

 

[Tortoise]

...the then-38-year-old put his head on Mesa County Sgt. Wayne Weyler’s shoulders and started crying. Weyler, who had been handling the investigation into the disappearance of his wife and daughter, asked Michael Blagg to tell the truth.

“I can’t,” Blagg repeatedly said, according to court testimony. He also told investigators he didn’t know where their bodies were, and that “I’m afraid I’m going to say I killed my wife and daughter when I know I didn’t hurt my wife and daughter.”

The next day, Michael Blagg was found in the bathtub of his apartment. He had slit his wrists. ...

...He [Bill Irwin, FBI] says he asked Blagg about a fight he and Jennifer had the weekend before she disappeared. Initially, Irwin says the fight was about a potential job in Longmont. He later admitted it was about his “internet problem.”

Irwin says Blagg admitted that his wife confronted him about the . Michael Blagg said the was actually him “investigating” and doing “research” — but later admitted that Jennifer didn’t like it, and his use of sexually explicit images was “akin to an addiction.”

Michael Blagg told Irwin that Jennifer likened his use to him “cheating on her”...

...Another point of discussion was marital counseling Michael and Jennifer Blagg had in South Carolina, as well as a discussion about separating when they lived in Arizona.

[...]

Testimony in the Michael Blagg trial will resume on Monday morning. The jury and attorneys were given Thursday afternoon and Friday off due to the length of the trial, which is expected to continue for a few more weeks.

More to read at link http://www.9news.com/article/news/l...focuses-on-🤬🤬🤬🤬-marital-troubles/73-528907430

 

[emjones14]

Relieved. At first I thought it would be really educational and interesting, but the longer the selection process went on, I just wanted to get out of there.

 

[RosalindaA]

Relieved. At first I thought it would be really educational and interesting, but the longer the selection process went on, I just wanted to get out of there.

I bet you were relieved. Seems to me this time-consuming grilling/sieving of prospective jurors doesn't do much to encourage the public to serve on juries. And adds a lot of time on to what already is a lengthy and gruelling process. And at least you won't have to watch what you say in public for the next ten years in case Blagg tries for a third trial! Probably the quickest way to get excused would have been to put some dark eyeshadow around one eye, your feet wouldn't have touched the ground!
Does it mean you get called back to try out for another jury?

 

[Niner]

If I remember correctly, in California - I was called for jury duty, but was sent home. They said I wouldn't be called again for another year. :dunno:

Do I have the dates correct - the ones in blue?

Monday, March 19th:
*Trial continues (Day 18) (@ 9am MT) - CO - Jennifer Jo Loman Blagg (34) (Nov. 12, 2001/found June, 2002) (daughter Abby Jo, 6, still missing) - Michael Francis Blagg (38/now 55) indicted for 1st degree murder, pled not guilty; on no bond hold. First trial on 4-16-04 found guilty, sentenced to LWOP; due to a juror lying on Jury questionnaire, new trial granted; Venue change from Mesa County to Jefferson County.
*3/14 Update: As of around 5 p.m. Tuesday, 3/13, Blagg’s second trial was 2 weeks behind schedule. The prosecution says they expect to finish with testimony on March 23, but that could spill over to March 26. The defense says it could use up to 14 days for testimony (to 4/13).
*3/15 Update: Looks like closing statements will begin around Friday April 13th then if the estimates are accurate, about another week for prosecution witnesses (4/20) and about three weeks for defense witnesses (to May 11).
This trial will continue throughout the week.

 

[Tortoise]

rsbm
Do I have the dates correct - the ones in blue?

Niner, looks like you've added the remaining time for witnesses in twice

prosecution witnesses finish around March 26th
defense witnesses finish around April 13th
closing statements begin around April 13th

 

[Niner]

Niner, looks like you've added the remaining time for witnesses in twice

prosecution witnesses finish around March 26th
defense witnesses finish around April 13th
closing statements begin around April 13th

:thinking: I see! Thanks! I knew it didn't sound right! LOL!

 

[Niner]

Monday, March 19th:
*Trial continues (Day 18) (@ 9am MT) - CO - Jennifer Jo Loman Blagg (34) (Nov. 12, 2001/found June, 2002) (daughter Abby Jo, 6, still missing) - Michael Francis Blagg (38/now 55) indicted for 1st degree murder, pled not guilty; on no bond hold. First trial on 4-16-04 found guilty, sentenced to LWOP; due to a juror lying on Jury questionnaire, new trial granted; Venue change from Mesa County to Jefferson County.
*3/14 Update: As of around 5 p.m. Tuesday, 3/13, Blagg’s second trial was two weeks behind schedule.
*3/15 Update: Looks like closing statements will begin around Friday April 13th then if the estimates are accurate, about another week for prosecution witnesses (3/19 to ~ 3/26) and about three weeks for defence witnesses (~ 3/26 to 4/12).
This trial will continue throughout the week.

 

[Niner]

Strange! There aren't any tweets coming out of the court room for this one. Didn't we have a few?

:dunno:

 

[Tortoise]

Jurors this morning heard recorded testimony from Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Janel Smith, who spoke about processing and testing of DNA found in the Blagg home, and on Jennifer Blagg’s body and the tent it was wrapped in when discovered in the Mesa County Landfill.

[...]

The past misdeeds of a disgraced ex-lawman and politician are expected to take a front seat in the case against Michael Blagg today in court amid attempts from defense attorneys to exclude his testimony.

...Fang suggested that as part of the sanction, Russell exclude King from testifying and give jurors information about why his testimony was being excluded, or possibly drop the charges of theft against Blagg.

“The impeachment of Steve King is part and parcel of our defense,” Fang said.

Fang’s written request for sanctions— and Mahre’s response — had not yet been entered into the public record this morning. The judge has not yet ruled on Fang's request.

https://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking...cle_76a7c23c-2baa-11e8-8856-a325efa1daf0.html

 

[Tortoise]

[FONT=&quot]MIDDAY UPDATE: Defense attorneys for accused murderer Michael Blagg want to exclude testimony from disgraced former investigator Steve King
https://twitter.com/mikewiggins76
[/FONT]

 

[Tortoise]

The lawyers defending Michael Blagg want the prosecution penalized for not disclosing an important piece of evidence.

“This is a clear discovery violation,” public defender Tina Fang argued Monday morning.

[...]

The letter, written by then Mesa County Sherif Rebecca Spiess, detailed how King lied during an internal investigation into whether he falsified his time cards. King pleaded guilty in 2015 to "unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly" embezzling nearly $5,000 from the Sheriff's Office and Colorado Mesa University.

The defense knew about King’s conviction, but they allege they didn’t know about the internal investigation that found King lied about falsifying his time cards when he was investigated by the sheriff’s office.

Fang asked Jefferson County Court Judge Tamra Russell to dismiss the a lesser charge against Michael Blagg for stealing from his employer or to exclude King from testifying or allow the defense to be the only party to question King and call him as a hostile witness.

http://www.9news.com/article/news/l...er-trial-of-withholding-evidence/73-529924631

 

[Tortoise]

Yesterday afternoon's proceedings at link.

Sounds as if the defense's witness of a sighting of Abby is in prison himself.

http://www.9news.com/article/news/l...-found-with-jennifer-blaggs-body/73-530024467

 

[Niner]

Defense points to Home Depot flyers in trash found with Jennifer Blagg's body
http://www.9news.com/article/news/l...-found-with-jennifer-blaggs-body/73-530024467

Updated: 7:08 PM MDT March 19, 2018

JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jurors heard competing theories Monday about when and how Jennifer Blagg’s body was dumped in the Mesa County landfill.

Investigators found Jennifer Blagg June 4, 2002 after weeks of searching individual bucket loads of trash from an excavator. Photos and video shown to the jury showed the moment her body was found, a single leg dangling outside of what would later be identified as a red tent.
[.....]
That’s an important point for the defense. Public defender Tina Fang asked the court Monday afternoon to consider accepting video testimony from a man named Thomas Furry. He claims he saw Abby Blagg at a gas station in Utah several days after she went missing.

“It goes to the heart of our defense,” Fang said, noting that if the jury believes Furry then Michael Blagg isn’t the killer.
[.....]
Furry didn’t testify at the first trial, and Fang argued that he’s unavailable to come testify this time.

“He’s locked up out of state, and I have no authority to get him here,” Fang said.

She was told she’d need “a governor’s warrant” to transport him.
[.....]
Judge Tamara Russell said she would think about it and decide what she’s going to do.
[.....]
“We’re trying very hard to make up some time,” Russell said. That’s why testimony is scheduled to start 30 minutes earlier Tuesday at 8 a.m.

 

[Niner]

Oops - how did I miss your posts Tortoise???!! They were NOT there just a few minutes ago.... :dunno:

 

[Tortoise]

hoh: :cuckoo: :rotfl:

 

[Niner]

kay:


:lurk:

 

[Tortoise]

Lunchtime update: more to read at link

The defense has tried to admit as much evidence as possible to undermine King’s credibility. The District Attorney’s Office has argued that this is irrelevant.

The defense cited King’s lack of credibility during opening statements, and Fang continuously sought to impeach King during testimony.

She also brought up a report King wrote when he went with Michael Blagg to his house for the first time since his wife and daughter were reported missing.

In the report, King wrote that Michael Blagg teared up and seemed hesitant to look at the master bedroom. He sat at the kitchen table and started to cry, and later picked up one of Abby’s jackets and sobbed.


FBI Special Agent Chris Buechner received Michael Blagg’s computers in the mail. He was called to the witness stand shortly before lunch.

“It’s been a long morning,” Russell said as she swore him in.


Buechner’s testimony will continue when the jury returns from the lunch break at 1 p.m.

http://www.9news.com/article/news/l...aced-state-official-investigator/73-530304506