New trial denied for doctor convicted in ex-wife's death


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SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has denied a new trial for Johnny Brickman Wall, who claimed testimony from two witnesses about his ex-wife's death prejudiced jurors.

Wall was found guilty of murder in March, nearly four years after his ex-wife, Uta von Schwedler, was found dead in an overflowing bathtub in her Sugar House home. The University of Utah researcher had dangerous levels of Xanax in her system, a dosage prosecutors argued Wall forced on her when he killed her.

Defense attorneys argued at trial that von Schwedler killed herself.

Wall was sentenced in July to 15 years to life in prison, shortly before his attorney, Frank Metos, motioned for a new trial based on what he considered faults in the testimony from two of the state's witnesses.

A memo filed Monday by 3rd District Court Judge James Blanch denied the two motions asking him to toss the conviction, the same day the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole announced Wall won't have a chance at parole until April 2043.

Blanch ruled Wall's attorneys hadn't objected to the testimony during the trial and therefore waived the chance to object after the fact.

One motion took issue with testimony from Dr. Marcella Fierro, a former chief medical examiner in Virginia and a forensic pathologist, who postulated Wall could have injected the Xanax without leaving a trace by grinding it up, mixing it with water and shooting it into von Schwedler's mouth with a needleless syringe.

In his memo, Blanch notes that Metos requested a break during Fierro's testimony to consult with experts about the theory, but proceeded afterward to cross-examination without further objection to the testimony. Additionally, Fierro presented two other theories of how the Xanax may have been administered, leaving jurors free to believe one or none of them.

Pelle Wall, left, speaks during a hearing while his father John Brickman Wall, right, looks on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in Salt Lake City. Wall was convicted of killing his cancer researcher ex-wife amid a bitter custody dispute and sentenced Wednesday, July 8, 2015 to 15 years to life in prison. (Rick Bowmer/AP Photo/File)
Pelle Wall, left, speaks during a hearing while his father John Brickman Wall, right, looks on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in Salt Lake City. Wall was convicted of killing his cancer researcher ex-wife amid a bitter custody dispute and sentenced Wednesday, July 8, 2015 to 15 years to life in prison. (Rick Bowmer/AP Photo/File)

"The jury was tasked to decide whether defendant caused the victim's death, not the precise method by which defendant killed her," Blanch wrote. "The DNA evidence, the state of the victim's room, the wounds on the victim's body, defendant's wounds and behavior after the murder, and the defendant's statements both before and after the murder also likely influenced the jury in deciding defendant murdered the victim."

Following the trial, jurors said it was Wall's own words and actions after von Schwedler's death that convinced them of his guilt.

Metos also took issue with Fierro's statements about the condition of von Schwedler's skin and speculation about her apparent lack of risk factors for suicide, both of which Blanch said he did not object to at trial.

Blanch also denied Metos' second motion for a new trial, which claimed testimony from Dr. Joshua Schiffman, the director of the cancer research laboratory where von Schwedler worked, exaggerated the importance of "a scientific breakthrough" von Schwedler had made regarding childhood leukemia.

Schiffman testified the discovery was an important "first step" in their research and von Schwedler was eager to continue the work, which prosecutors said was evidence she was not considering harming herself.

Metos' motion argued the discovery was not as significant as it appeared to be and disagreed with statements that von Schwedler could not be replaced, calling the testimony prejudicial and an effort to make von Schwedler seem more successful than she was.

Blanch determined the statements were not misleading and were appropriate in illustrating von Schwedler's mental state before she died.

Wall has maintained his innocence in the wake of criticism from von Schwedler's family, including the couple's children.

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McKenzie Romero

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