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PROVO, Utah (AP) — A judge has postponed sentencing an Orem man found guilty in his wife's 2012 shooting death to hear defense arguments that the conviction should be tossed because of a prosecutor's quote from the movie "Dumb and Dumber."
The family of victim Heidy Truman said they're disappointed by the delay. They want Judge Samuel McVey to impose the maximum sentence on 32-year-old Conrad Truman.
"He executed my sister, left her naked, in an evil, demonic act. He shows no remorse, no accountability, and he's capable of doing this sick, twisted crime again," said her brother, Cody Wagner.
Conrad Truman has said he didn't shoot his wife, and on Monday his family said he's innocent and they plan to appeal the verdict.
"He was simply confused and lost and had no idea what happened. Conrad spent many, many months desperately trying to make sense of a horrible accident," said his sister, Colette Dahl.
Truman appeared in a dark blue jail jumpsuit with his hands shackled in front of him. Though he didn't speak during a hearing Monday, he frequently shook his head in response to his in-laws assertions that he killed his wife or didn't feel sorry about her death.
McVey plans to hear arguments Feb. 9 about prosecutor Craig Johnson's use of a "Dumb and Dumber" quote about a one-in-a-million chance at trial. Defense attorney Ron Yengich says the reference to the chances of the shooting being an accident was a personal attack, and he's asking the judge to toss the conviction.
The judge said Monday he thought the comment probably wasn't a personal attack, and sentencing is expected to follow on Feb. 9 if he sides with the prosecution.
McVey heard from Heidy Truman's family at the Monday hearing. She was remembered as a woman with a sense of adventure and huge smile who attended her nephews' birthday parties and teased her sister about her minivan.
Conrad Truman faces at least 15 years and up to life in prison on the murder charge, as well as one to 15 years on an obstruction of justice charge.
Truman was found guilty of killing his wife after a night of drinking, possibly to collect nearly $1 million in insurance money. Prosecutors say she died of a point-blank gunshot to the head after an argument, and murder was the only explanation.
Conrad Truman said he loved his wife, and found her with a gunshot wound to the head after she went to take a shower. Yengich said she may have thought she heard an intruder and accidently shot herself after grabbing her gun while still she was still wet from the shower.
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