NE NE - Jessica O'Grady, 19, Omaha, 10 May 2006

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

News::Judge Denies Change Of Venue In O'Grady Case

... Also today, the judge said he would allow evidence collected from Edwards' aunt's home and statements he made to Douglas County Sheriff's deputies to be used at trial...

 

[mom3dd]

Thank you JerseyGirl for the link and information. I feel so for the O'Grady family. Prayers and justice. mom3dd

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

You're welcome, of course. I can't believe that this nightmare is dragging out so long for Jessica's loved ones. This seems to be the kind of family that never gives up and nonetheless, they're seemingly no closer to finding her now than they were when this first started.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Defense Plans To Attack O'Grady's Character, Judge Told - News

Defense attorneys told a judge they plan to attack the character of a missing University of Nebraska-Omaha woman who is presumed dead when trial starts this spring.

Attorneys were in court Friday morning to argue over what evidence a jury will be allowed to see in the trial of a man charged with his girlfriend's death...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Friday will decide fate of motions in the case of missing sophomore - News

... Both the defense and prosecution's motions are in limine, meaning they aim to limit the evidence that is allowed in the trial...

The motion for the defense, filed Jan. 16, lists 18 areas of evidence they request not be allowed in the trial. Included in the request to disallow was any evidence reporting an alleged pregnancy or Edwards' possible sexual relationships with women other than his girlfriend and O'Grady...

The defense hopes to restrict any reference to an alleged pregnancy of O'Grady and any reference to "the total volume, weight or amount of human blood located in Mr. Edwards' bedroom," according to the motion.

Any references suggesting O'Grady died at Edwards' residence, or suggestion of time and date O'Grady allegedly died, are also requested to be withheld by the defense motion.

The prosecution filed a motion in limine of their own on Jan. 25, moving to prevent the defendant from producing evidence involving O'Grady's past sexual relationships, hearsay evidence regarding Edwards' innocence or any testimony regarding Edwards' character. The prosecutor's motion listed seven areas of evidence...

 

[Bobbisangel]

Defense Plans To Attack O'Grady's Character, Judge Told - News

Defense attorneys told a judge they plan to attack the character of a missing University of Nebraska-Omaha woman who is presumed dead when trial starts this spring.

Attorneys were in court Friday morning to argue over what evidence a jury will be allowed to see in the trial of a man charged with his girlfriend's death...

Why do defense attorneys always go this route? I hate it when they attack the victim and if I was on a jury I would discount everything that they throw out neg about the victim. It's isn't right. She is dead and not on trial.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I completely agree. The trial is supposed to be about justice. I was sick reading that article!

 

[Opie]

I so agree with the last 2 posts. The victim is DEAD, MURDERED and not on trial here. If enough of her blood was found in this guy's room to indicate she is no longer living, what possible difference could her past make against that? Am I missing something here?

 

[mom3dd]

What does it matter what her background is. The DNA and evidence show she is dead. Personally the aunt should be on trial too. Evidence says she helped clean up what's to say she wasn't involved and just didn't leave the DNA he did?

 

[Bobbisangel]

What does it matter what her background is. The DNA and evidence show she is dead. Personally the aunt should be on trial too. Evidence says she helped clean up what's to say she wasn't involved and just didn't leave the DNA he did?

The aunt, stepmother, and cousin all helped clean...tried to clean...up the bloody mess in that killers bedroom. I will even go as far as to say that at least one of them helped get rid of the body. No one will ever convince me that the whole creepy family didn't know what took place in that downstairs bedroom. I remember reading that they were gone when the murder took place but whether that is true or not....is anyones guess. But they knew and didn't tell LE. They even refused to talk to LE after speaking to them once I believe. They are all guilty as sin.

I don't care if this girl slept with every single guy in college or even the whole town. This creep murdered her...that is the bottom line. I'd bet money that she was a nice girl that just fell for the wrong person. I would just love to know what that other girl that he got pregnant thinks by now. Lord forbid that she would be visiting him in jail with her baby

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

What gets me the most is that the defense wants to attack HER character while at the same time asking that any allegations of him with women other than Jessica and his girlfriend be forbidden. His lawyer is a real tool, IMO. I don't know how he sleeps at night.

 

[Bobbisangel]

What gets me the most is that the defense wants to attack HER character while at the same time asking that any allegations of him with women other than Jessica and his girlfriend be forbidden. His lawyer is a real tool, IMO. I don't know how he sleeps at night.

Are you saying that if LE discovered that this creep had been violent with other girlfriends...it won't be allowed in court? They wouldn't be able to put the other girl or girls on the stand? Yet it is alright to tear Jessica to shreds in court?

A victim's past should never be let in. Now if she was a violent girl that beat on her boyfriends or chased them around with a knife or gun I could understand that as the defense would be trying to prove that the murder could have been self defense. BUT...what difference does it make if she slept with her other boyfriends or smoked a little pot now and then or took a pill that she shouldn't have? Jessica was working and going to college wasn't she? I believe that is what I remember. If so, I doubt that she had much time to be a wild and crazy girl. I hope the defense can't find a darn thing to bring up in court about her. They always do this...try to make the victime look as bad as possible...it isn't right and should never be allowed.

When my daughter was murdered the only person that tried to make her look like a tramp...drug user and alcoholic was the killers MOTHER! She did this in the paper and believe me...it did not go over well with this community. The woman didn't even come for her son's sentencing after he was caught. She was afraid something might happen to her! She might have been right!

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

It gets even worse:

WOWT - News

The defense attorney for Christopher Edwards says Jessica O'Grady is either alive or someone other than Edwards killed her...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Worth the read - details information about past relationships, Edwards' reaction to LE nearing his mattress, and defense characterizations of Jessica's childhood.

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Christopher Edwards told police searching his room that his mattress was soaked with blood because it had been his girlfriend's time of the month.

Edwards wasn't asked, nor did he explain, why Jessica O'Grady's blood also was splattered across his headboard, wall and ceiling...

In a civil but sometimes intense hearing, prosecutors and defense attorneys argued over the relevance, and reliability, of proposed pieces of evidence.

Defense attorneys repeatedly hammered at whether prosecutors could quantify O'Grady's blood and whether they could prove she was dead...

Prosecutors, meanwhile, took exception to defense hopes to detail O'Grady's past boyfriends and sometimes rocky relationships...

Prosecutors didn't attempt to introduce evidence of an outline found on Edwards' computer after her disappearance. The outline described a fictitious main character and several female murder victims...

Afterward, one of Edwards' attorneys, Matthew Higgins, said Edwards is frustrated with the case.

"The one person that can show he didn't do it can't be found," Higgins said of O'Grady.

Retelsdorf called that assertion ridiculous.

"To suggest that she's alive and she's sitting somewhere just watching him go to trial for her murder," she said, "is insulting to everyone's common sense."

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

To summarize the above article, just so we have the details here without violating copyright laws:

Edwards allegedly said "I'm not sure I want you checking that area" when LE approached the mattress. He finally allowed the detective to look, stating that his girlfriend had her period. Allegedly, half of the mattress was soaked with blood. (It is written that there was also blood "splattered across his headboard, wall and ceiling" but that Edwards offered no explanation for that and that LE didn't ask.) Both the prosecutor and the defense atty. state that no expert will be able to quantify the amount of blood but the defense atty. said "There's going to be no question that when the jury sees the mattress, every reasonable person is going to say, 'That's a lot of blood.'"

- The defense was upset when the prosecutor referred to the case as a murder, calling it a "slip" on the prosecutor's part. The prosecutor stated twice that she didn't slip.

- Neither side wants their party's past relationships to be brought into evidence. Defense repeatedly mentioned that O'Grady had dated a registered sex offender but apparently it was a young man that was 19 at the time that his girlfriend was 15. He also suggested that O'Grady was pregnant as a result of her relationship with the "sex offender". The judge ruled that both sexual histories were irrelevant.

- Defense wanted to "introduce reports O'Grady allegedly made against the former boyfriend and another. Prosecutors noted that those reports - alleging that one had assaulted O'Grady and that another had threatened her life - happened several months before her disappearance.

Nothing else connects those boyfriends to O'Grady's disappearance, Retelsdorf said."

- Defense mentioned that O'Grady had had a troubled past and that she had even run away. Judge ruled that "prosecutors should stick to evidence of her habits and routines - such as phone and credit-card use - to establish whether there's a departure from her past.

Edwards' attorneys also must avoid speculation that she ran away, Derr said."

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Pre-trial hearing looks at evidence in case of missing sophomore - News

... the defense secured there would be no testimony presented by the State regarding the amount of blood found in Edwards' residence...

The judge ruled that a decision (regarding references to Jessica's alleged pregnancy) was "hard to make in the abstract," but decided that the matter would be dealt with when it came up during the trial...

Lefler has already filed a motion to change venue, citing media coverage and influence on the jury. The motion was denied...

Family of Edwards' and O'Grady's were both present at the hearing, which according to reports led to some friction at the end of the hearing, when Edwards' father attempted to shield his son from the media's cameras.

O'Grady's family declined to comment, not wanting to give any reason for a mistrial...

 

[mom3dd]

Thanks Jersey Girl for the updates.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Does that mean that the blood amount found in the basement bedroom can come in or not? I hope it is allowed in because to me that is really important.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

What I understand is that the blood evidence is allowed in but there is no way that an expert could reliably testify as to the amount of blood.

 

[Bobbisangel]

What I understand is that the blood evidence is allowed in but there is no way that an expert could reliably testify as to the amount of blood.

OK, that makes sense. As long as the blood gets in and hopfully pictures of the room will do. It must have looked like a blood bath.