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PROVO — A new trial date was set Monday for a man whose murder conviction was overturned due to measurement error.
Conrad Truman, 34, was convicted nearly two years ago of murdering his wife, Heidy Truman, 25, who was found with a single gunshot wound to her head in the couple's Orem home on Sept. 30, 2012. Truman was sentenced to 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison.
But 4th District Judge Samuel McVey recently ordered a new trial because the jury was given incorrect measurements from the crime scene.
A measurement in the hallway from where Heidy Truman was shot to where she collapsed was somehow changed from inches to feet. That difference could potentially raise doubts in the minds of jurors about whether her gunshot wound was self-inflicted or not, the judge ruled.
Truman maintained his innocence throughout the trial, claiming his wife likely committed suicide.
"I can't say sorry for something I did not do," Truman said at his sentencing hearing in February of 2015.
Prosecutors from the Utah County Attorney's Office, who had the option of not pursuing a new trial, said Monday they plan to go ahead with one. McVey set the new trial to begin Nov. 1.
"We still feel that the stories presented by Conrad differed to such a degree that it does not match the physical evidence even with the corrected measurements," deputy Utah County attorney Craig Johnson said outside the courtroom.
But defense attorney Mark Moffat said the inaccurate measurements, combined with the inaccurate diagrams presented at trial by prosecutors, are a big deal.
"The police mismeasured the home and the distance within the home made it appear much larger than it actually was. You might actually say, 2 feet, 3 feet, does it make it much larger? It does," he said.
Instead of walking 10 feet after she was shot, "She went 9 inches. Completely consistent with a self-inflicted shot and she immediately fell down," added defense attorney Ann Taliaferro.
In addition to the wrong measurement, Truman's attorneys believe there were other inaccuracies presented to jurors regarding both the crime scene and the autopsy. Deputy state medical examiner Edward Leis changed his opinion after the trial and stated he could no longer call Heidy Truman's death a homicide.
"We think that almost every piece of evidence they presented previously as well as every theory they presented previously, we have, throughout these new trial proceedings, completely undercut," Taliaferro said. "I think we have debunked every piece of evidence that would ever point to the fact that this was a murder. It was not a murder, he's innocent. This a was a self-inflicted wound."
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Judge likely to order new trial for Orem man convicted of murdering wife
A judge is expected to grant a new trial to an Orem man, imprisoned for murder, who has long maintained that he didn't kill his wife.Johnson, however, believes the state will still prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"We will let the evidence speak for itself within the courtroom. We're not here to try the case in the media. We've already been through the trial once and we're planning on doing it again," he said.
As for whether the corrected measurements will make the state's case harder, Johnson said, "It's certainly something we need to look at in the totality of everything. Certainly, as we argued, we felt it was a harmless error. Given the totality of everything there, including Conrad's statements to 911 and those immediately right after that we felt pointed to a consciousness of guilt … we still feel that the stories presented by Conrad differed to such a degree that it does not match the physical evidence, even with the corrected measurements."
Whether a new trial will actually begin in November is unknown. The defense is expected to file a motion challenging the decision to bind the case over to trial from the preliminary hearing and request that it be thrown out due to the inaccurate evidence.
Next Tuesday, a bail hearing will be held for Truman. Truman is asking to either be released outright or have his $1 million bail substantially reduced to just $10,000.
Truman's father, Mark Truman, who attended Monday's hearing, said last week was a tough one for his son. He said he was surprised that the state plans to proceed with a new trial. But he said he and his son remain optimistic.
"He's a good kid and he'll stick with it. He'll do what he has to. So will we," he said.
The family of Heidy Truman also said Monday they remain optimistic that Conrad Truman would be found guilty again and were thankful for the opportunity to have another trial.
