Prosecutors: There's no evidence to support new murder trial for Conrad Truman

Prosecutors: There's no evidence to support new murder trial for Conrad Truman

(File Photo)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — In a lengthy memo filed Friday, prosecutors argue that no new evidence has been presented that would support a new trial for an Orem man convicted of murdering his wife.

Conrad Truman, who has professed his innocence from the day his wife was killed, called for a new trial last year citing what he calls mistakes and misrepresentations in the case, including a medical examiner's decision after the fact to no longer classify Heidy Truman's death as a homicide.

Truman, who turned 34 last month, was found guilty by a jury following a three-week trial last October and is currently serving 15 years to life in prison for murder with a consecutive one-to-15-year sentence for obstructing justice. At sentencing, Truman reiterated his claim that he did not murder his 25-year-old wife but claims she shot herself.

Heidy Truman was shot once in the head in the couple's Orem home on Sept. 30, 2012. While Truman insists he heard a popping noise that night before rushing down the hallway to see his wife collapse from a self-inflicted gunshot, her family has long insisted she was a tragic victim of domestic violence.

In the memo filed Friday, prosecutors affirmed that what Truman called errors "were simply matters of opinion and interpretation of the evidence."

"The state acknowledges that the trial was not perfect," prosecutors wrote. "But even according to the United States Supreme Court, a perfect trial is not what the Constitution guarantees. A fair trial is what the Constitution guarantees."

In an affidavit filed in August alongside Truman's amended motion for a new trial, deputy medical examiner Edward Leis noted that he had ruled that the nature of Heidy Truman's death was undetermined in the days after her death. However, 10 months later he amended the autopsy to classify the shooting death a homicide following a lengthy presentation by police and prosecutors two days before charges were filed against Conrad Truman.

Leis again changed his determination in August, once more saying he could not determine who fired the shot that killed Heidy Truman.

According to prosecutors, the medical examiner's decision to once again amend his determination does not constitute new evidence, and dispute Truman's claims that investigators presented the doctor with "false and misleading information" to prompt him to call the death a homicide.

Jurors were instructed that the medical examiner's opinion could not be relied upon exclusively when considering the case, prosecutors noted.

Additionally, existing gunshot residue on Heidy Truman's right hand at the time of her death does not represent new evidence, while presenting the unreliable and inconclusive information at trial would not have impacted the outcome, prosecutors argued.

"Of course, there are dozens of other scenarios that could result in the same findings, including Heidy using her right hand to defend herself from her husband's attack," prosecutors said in the memo.

Prosecutors affirmed that crime scene dimensions and evidence were not misrepresented at the trial, and that accounts of Truman's erratic behavior at the scene was accurate. Police and paramedics testified that Truman was angry and irrational when they arrived at the home, threatening to kill them if they didn't save his wife's life.

A determination of whether or not to grant a new trial will be made by 4th District Judge Samuel McVey.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
McKenzie Romero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast