Hamilton County murder trial still on for June 10-21
A defense motion asking to move the Jeffrey Adams first-degree murder trial out of Hamilton County has been denied by the court. Adams, who is scheduled to stand trial in June for the premeditated murder of his wife, Angela in their Marquette home on Feb. 26, 2023, had petitioned for the change of venue through his attorney, Matthew McDonald in a motion filed March 7.
Following a hearing held in Saunders County on Monday, March 26, District Judge Christina M. Marroquin denied the motion for change of venue and also denied a motion in limine filed by McDonald asking that a snapshot of a text message on the defendant’s phone “that is not complete” also be excluded from being presented as evidence in Adams’s trial.
Court records do not give any indication as to the judge’s reasoning for denying the motions and only state that the evidence on the motions had been heard and that the ruling was on the record. The judge’s notes also state that the jury trial on charges of first-degree murder is still scheduled for June 10-21 in Hamilton County District Court.
McDonald’s motion for a change of venue alleged that “pretrial publicity and misconduct by an unknown person makes it impossible to secure a fair and impartial jury in Hamilton County.” It also cited as reasons for moving the trial out of Hamilton County, “numerous news articles and television reports regarding the case in the local media that reaches Hamilton county including updates on the Hamilton county Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.”
No further hearings are scheduled at this time, however, the judge’s notes did state that pre-trial motions must be filed and heard by May 27. Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 3 at 9 a.m.
Adams, who remains incarcerated in the Hamilton County Jail on a $1 million bond, was not physically present for the hearing in Wahoo, but appeared via video conferencing.