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PROVO — A man convicted of murdering two Utah teenagers is asking the court to redo the trial after a monthlong jury trial earlier this year.
On April 15, a jury found Jerrod Baum, 45, guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, for brutally killing Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson, 17, and Riley Powell, 18, more than four years earlier and dropping their bodies down the Tintic Standard Mine outside Eureka, Juab County.
The jury also found Baum guilty of six other charges: two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of abuse or desecration of a dead human body and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Now, he is asking the judge to give him another jury trial for the same charges, but has not specified why he thinks he deserves one.
A Facebook page run by the families of Otteson and Powell posted about the hearing on the motion for a retrial on Monday, and thanked people for "the continued love and support for Breezy and Riley."
The initial motion for a new trial was filed on June 24. At the time, Baum's attorneys, Thomas Means, Dallas Young and Michael Brown, said they were reviewing "a number of potential irregularities" that could justify a new trial but were not specific.
Deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride opposed the motion on July 1, arguing that state law says a reason has to be given in the motion for a new trial. He also noted the motion was filed over two months after the verdict and more than 14 days after the sentencing hearing — past the time they can legally seek a new trial.
Baum's attorneys, however, said their motion was filed within 14 days of when documents outlining Baum's sentence were filed with the court. They said this should meet the legal requirements for when the sentence is entered, and they should be given more time.
"The state's suggestion that the defense should spell out what it is investigating in order to make a case for an extension puts the defense in an impossible position," they argued in a document filed on July 8.
On Aug. 10, Baum's attorneys said they were still reviewing the irregularities and asked for more time before a hearing and asked again for a new trial after another sentencing document, called order and judgment of conviction, was filed with the court.
Prosecutors said even if the clock was reset when this document was filed, which they argued it should not be, Baum's attorneys still missed the window because the judge had not granted a time extension.
Judge Derek Pullan decided to hold a hearing for the attorneys to debate the motion for another trial. That hearing is currently set for Nov. 21.
