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PROVO — Attorneys for a man charged with killing a young couple from Eureka and dumping their bodies down an abandoned mine shaft want the judge over the case to recuse herself.
They allege in new court filings that 4th District Judge Christine Johnson has shown bias and coordinated with prosecutors in her chambers to obtain testimony from Jerrod William Baum's girlfriend — the only witness tying him to the deaths — that could be used against him.
Court records show Johnson has not yet filed a response, but a prosecutor on Tuesday denied there was any coordination.
Defense attorney Dustin Parmley alleges that in order to give Morgan Reannon Henderson incentive to testify in Baum's murder trial, Johnson agreed to allow her to walk free once Baum's case is resolved.
Johnson on Oct. 5 sentenced Henderson, 35, to three years in jail after she struck a plea deal with prosecutors, agreeing to testify against Baum. Henderson, of Mammoth, Juab County, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. She admitted lying to authorities after she saw Baum drive Riley Powell, 18, and Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson, 17, to an abandoned mine, where police say he slit their throats and discarded their bodies on Dec. 30, 2017.
The judge at the time said she understood the reasons behind the plea deal.
"I have agreed to bind myself to the terms of it because I believe those reasons are important," she said in court, according to a transcript in court records.
Related:
Woman agrees to testify against boyfriend in double murder case
The girlfriend of a man accused of killing a young Eureka couple and throwing their bodies into an abandoned mine has pleaded guilty to amended charges.Parmley argues that before Henderson admitted to the crimes and recounted what she had seen, the judge strayed from standard practice and placed her under oath in order to secure sworn testimony against Baum.
Parmley wrote that he tried to confirm his belief by asking the state for records. Prosecutors provided some of them, court documents show, but objected to handing over others.
"We think Judge Johnson has been a terrific judge on the Baum case, as well as the Morgan Henderson case," said deputy Utah County attorney Chad Grunander. "There was no coordination with prosecutors in the Henderson case. … We simply met her and explained what the resolution was going to be, and asked her to bind herself and agree, which is allowed under the rules and not uncommon."
He noted Henderson's defense attorneys were also present for the meeting with Johnson.
Grunander declined to give specifics, noting the state doesn't get a chance to respond in court when a defense attorney seeks to disqualify a judge.
Baum, 42, of Eureka, faces several felony charges, including two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. The case carries a possible death sentence if he is convicted.
Parmley did not immediately respond to messages left Tuesday.
