GUILTY Jennifer Blagg - Re-trial of Michael Blagg 20 February 2018

Henry2326

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A 12 person jury convicted Michael Blagg of killing his wife Jennifer. Blagg was sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. His daughter Abby is still missing.
To this day, Blagg insists he had nothing to do with the crime something he publicly spoke about at trial, "I can tell you your honor that I am innocent of these charges."
In September of this year, that same judge, David Bottger vacated Blagg's sentence meaning in the eyes of the courts, he's an innocent man.
The retrial was granted after it was discovered one of those 12 jurors, sworn in to be unbiased and base their decision solely on the evidence of the case, lied on her juror questionnaire. So now, 10 years later the process for the murder trial starts all over again.

http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Michael-Blagg-Murder-in-the-first-degree-282222211.html


2018


Much has changed in the 16 years and three months since Michael Blagg called 911 to report his wife and daughter missing from the family's home in the Redlands.

The internet was a novelty. Law enforcement officers recorded interviews on VHS and cassette tapes. And Blagg, a well-educated, seemingly devout Christian who apparently doted on Jennifer, 34, and Abby, 6, was a sympathetic figure.

It's been 14 years since a Mesa County jury convicted Blagg of murdering his wife, whose body was found in the Mesa County Landfill — a conviction that would later be overturned due to juror misconduct.

Since then, much has stayed the same.

Abby's body has never been found.

Blagg, who will face jurors for a second murder trial starting this week, marks his 55th birthday today. He's grayer. He's been incarcerated for years.

But he still says he didn't do it.

Starting Tuesday, Blagg — whose case occupies a significant place in the collective memory of longtime Mesa County residents — will have a second chance to avoid conviction.

Prosecutors will have a second chance to prove his guilt.

BACKGROUND


When Blagg took his murder charges to trial in 2004, represented by now-retired public defenders David Eisner and Ken Singer, prosecutors pointed to the apparently staged burglary at the Blaggs' home, and Michael Blagg's odd behavior following his wife and daughter's disappearance. They pointed to the area in the landfill where Jennifer's body was found, near trash from Blagg's workplace at the time, Ametek Dixson. They pointed to the Blaggs' marriage problems and Michael Blagg's *advertiser censored* addiction.

Blagg maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and his attorneys theorized that somebody else had killed Jennifer and possibly Abby, then disposed of their bodies elsewhere.

The jury didn't buy it. After about 10 hours of deliberation, they convicted Blagg of first-degree murder and other counts. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

MARILYN CHARLESWORTH


The conviction didn't end the case. In following years, defenders made several unsuccessful bids at an appeal.

Then, in 2013, Blagg juror Marilyn Charlesworth stood up before Grand Junction City Council and spoke about her history as a victim of domestic violence — a history she had omitted on a jury questionnaire before Blagg's trial.

Mesa County District Judge David Bottger — who oversaw Blagg's trial and sentenced him to life in prison — agreed with defense attorneys that Charlesworth had deliberately misrepresented her background. Bottger ordered a new trial, prompting public furor over Charlesworth's behavior and the beginning of a process for Mesa County that is perhaps unprecedented in terms of cost.

The retrial begins Tuesday in Jefferson County under 1st Judicial District Judge Tamara Russell.

Former Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger, who was in office when Blagg was granted a new trial, said he never faulted Bottger for the decision, despite remaining convinced that Blagg's first trial was fair.

"It's a huge waste of time and money, obviously," he said. "At the end of the day it's still Marilyn Charlesworth's responsibility."

Current District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said the case looms large for longtime Grand Valley residents, many of whom turned out to help search for Jennifer and Abby.

"I would say it's the most iconic criminal case in Mesa County," Rubinstein said. "When discussions occur about big cases or burden on the court system or the justice system, and discussion about homicide cases, it is the first case that jumps to everybody's mind."

WHAT'S DIFFERENT TODAY?


It remains to be seen how the state's case against Blagg today will differ from the case it presented 14 years ago. Public Defender Tina Fang, who along with defender Scott Troxell is representing Blagg, declined an interview for this story, but reiterated her team's focus on maintaining Blagg's innocence.

"We are spending every waking minute we have at this point focused on getting ready for this trial," Fang wrote in an email. "I really appreciate you covering this story, because it is a story of how people's contaminated perceptions can invade every part of a case. It is a story of how an innocent person gets convicted in America."

Chief Deputy District Attorneys Trish Mahre and Mark Hand declined to comment on evidence in the upcoming trial, but said the case's age will present some challenges.

Attorneys handling old cases regularly have to "find old witnesses who have retired, who have died, who are sick and not able to testify," Mahre said. "People have moved on outside of the Grand Junction and Colorado area. You have to figure out how to find them and bring them back."

The possibility of contradictions from witnesses' prior testimony is always an issue in older cases. And then there's the massive amount of evidence to contend with.

"I've never had a case this large when it comes to the amount of discovery," Hand said.

Logistics of arranging travel and lodging for witnesses are a headache, albeit not one Mahre and Hand have to handle themselves.

"Thankfully we have a strong team within the district attorney's office," Hand said. "Everyone is jumping in when they can to help us out."

Preparing for trial with outdated technology has also been a hassle.

"We're pulling out cassette tapes, VHS players. We're trying to see, do we have equipment that can play it?" Mahre said. "What do we need to convert?"

The drastic technological shift may actually help streamline some testimony that took time during the first trial.

"Interestingly in the first trial, back in 2004, the internet … was new," Hand said. "There was a lot of testimony on what the internet was."

During Blagg's first trial, prosecutors spent hours focusing on pornographic images found on his home computer. Attorneys haggled over how many images — and how much of each graphic image — to show jurors. At one point, Bottger intervened and shut down the display.

It seems unlikely that a similar scene will reoccur; Russell has ruled that prosecutors cannot get into the volume or specific titles of Blagg's *advertiser censored* collection.

Russell last year also curtailed an attempt by Fang and Troxell to introduce a new potential alternate suspect to jurors: Phillip Bruinsma of Whitefish, Montana, who was recently sentenced to two 100-year prison terms for child *advertiser censored* and sex assault-related charges. Among Bruinsma's possessions, Jennifer and Abby Blagg's names were found written on sticky notes on a list including details about several other missing girls. But Judge Russell ruled in September that the defense did not make a strong enough connection between the Montana man and the Blagg case.

Given that ruling, Mahre said at a recent hearing that she expects testimony in the trial to last four weeks. In an interview, Mahre gave credit to now-retired prosecutors Frank Daniels and Brian Flynn, who prosecuted Blagg the first time around.

"We're going to put in as good an effort as they did in the first trial," Mahre said. "We have an invested team ready to go."



https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/wes...cle_ed7979e8-1479-11e8-b6ee-10604b9f6eda.html

Timeline
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/wes...ion_f0cbfa88-0b7a-11e8-a0ad-c39422ba9f0c.html
 
http://www.westword.com/news/michae...d-feature-new-suspect-in-wifes-murder-9324982

41028e06c68bcb84fa90897846ee04d9.jpg


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http://charleyproject.org/case/abby-jo-blagg
See more info st link
----------------------------------------------------

Abby, her father, Michael Francis Blagg, and her mother, Jennifer Loman Blagg, resided in the Redlands area west of Grand Junction, Colorado in 2001. The family lived in a home in the 2200 block of Pine Terrace Court. Photos of Michael, Jennifer and the Blaggs' former house are posted with this case summary. Michael was employed as an operations director for the Dixson division of Ametek Inc.. Jennifer was a stay-at-home mother and often participated in exercise classes and religious studies, as well as volunteer work with Abby's class.

Michael told authorities that Abby went to sleep in her bedroom at approximately 7:00 p.m. on November 12, 2001. He said that Jennifer received a phone call from a neighbor regarding a possible lunch date the following day at 8:00 p.m. Michael stated that he and Jennifer went to bed by 10:00 p.m.; he said that there was no indication of anything amiss during the overnight hours.

Michael said that he departed for work at approximately 6:00 a.m. on November 13. He claimed that his wife and daughter were asleep when he left the house. Michael told investigators that he called home periodically during the day to speak to Jennifer, but no one answered the phone at their residence. He said he was concerned about her apparent absence by the late afternoon hours, but he did not believe that anything was wrong.

Michael said that he returned home by 4:00 p.m. and noticed that there were signs of a struggle inside the residence. A large amount of blood was on the mattress in the master bedroom, but there was no sign of Jennifer or Abby. Michael called authorities at 4:20 p.m. and the residence was sealed off as a potenial crime scene.

Investigators learned that an unidentified individual called Bookcliff Christian School and told administrators that Abby would be absent from class on November 13. Authorities read Jennifer's journals, hoping that her private thoughts may provide evidence as to their whereabouts. The diaries were reportedly full of Biblical references.

Michael moved out of their home in December 2001, stating that it was difficult to remain in the house without his wife and daughter. He told authorities that a portion of Jennifer's jewelry had allegedly been stolen from the residence on the day Jennifer and Abby disappeared. Michael claimed that he did not realize the jewelry was missing until January 2002, nearly two months after they vanished. Michael said that he believed their disappearances were connected to a series of burglaries that occurred in the Grand Junction area in late 2001. Authorities reportedly believed that the investigation was headed in other directions.

Authorities placed Michael under surveillance in late November 2001. A camera allegedly recorded him stealing a shredder and a table, worth over $500 altogether, from his employer in January 2002. Authorities questioned Michael about the incident in February 2002. He attempted to commit suicide the following day by slashing his wrists. He left a note denying any knowledge of Abby and Jennifer's disappearances.

Michael was taken to the hospital in serious condition; his condition stabilized and he was released after one week. Michael maintains his innocence in Jennifer and Abby's cases, but he was publicly identified as a possible suspect after his suicide attempt. His family members and friends supported him after his wife and daughter vanished, but opinions over his possible connection to the case began to change in early 2002. Michael's employment was terminated in late February 2002. He hired an attorney and said that he planned to look for a new job.

Officials questioned friends and relatives of the Blaggs in Arizona, California, South Carolina and Texas as part of the investigation. Authorities announced that they believed Jennifer and Abby were the victims of foul play in late March 2002. Investigators said that they believed the family's maroon and gold 2000 Ford Windstar was involved in the disappearances. A photo of the vehicle is posted with this case summary. Investigators believe that the minivan may have been used to transport Jennifer and Abby from their residence in November 2001. The vehicle was parked inside the family's garage at the time they were reported missing.

An anonymous female caller contacted authorities several times after Jennifer and Abby's disappearance. The informant claimed she saw the minivan in an area near Park Ridge, Colorado on the day of their disappearances. Investigators asked the caller to contact them again with additional details during the spring of 2002.

Authorities announced that they planned to search in a 45-mile area near the Blaggs' home in early April 2002. Officials said that the search was limited to areas accessible by a two-wheel drive, low-clearance vehicle. The family's Winstar matched that description. The search lasted 12 days, but no evidence related to the case was discovered.

Officials continued to search around the Grand Junction area for clues related to the Blaggs' investigation through the early summer of 2002. Jennifer's remains were discovered in the Mesa County landfill on June 5, 2002. There was no evidence of Abby's body at the scene and authorities are not certain if her remains will be located in the future.

Michael was residing with his mother in Georgia at the time of the discovery. He was charged with first-degree murder in his wife's case shortly after her body was identified. Michael returned to Colorado to face the charges. Authorities concluded that Jennifer was killed by a gunshot to her left eye. Officials believe that she was murdered while she slept, as her dental retainer was discovered with her remains. Jennifer only wore the device while she was sleeping.



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Good to see that they have gone for a re-trial, had my doubts that would happen. Just listened to an interesting podcast on this case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qPUJsnJIDs

I don't have much doubt in my head (if any) that Blagg is guilty, and that the original jury got it right, but the evidence whilst strong enough for me, might not convince everybody. Great shame that they never found Abby, but credit to LE for the enormous effort they put into finding Jennifer. Hopefully where she was found will help convict him again.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why the fact that a juror has experienced partner violence should influence whether they sit on a jury in cases like this. I understand that this is the procedure and she did not disclose information, but why should that action of one person overturn a verdict? Presumably they reached a unanimous verdict, and the point of having a jury is that you have a random mix of people with different experiences. Just seems almost designed for defence lawyers to find another excuse to overturn a conviction, and for needless expense.

Hope Michael Blagg doesn't get so lucky this time. Tbh, after I had heard his first answerphone message to his wife on the podcast, I was convinced of his guilt! Ultra creepy and phoney.
 
So sad. Unhappy individuals just need to walk away and not murder their spouse and/or their children. Did the wife have life insurance taken out on her?
 
So sad. Unhappy individuals just need to walk away and murder their spouse and/or their children. Did the wife have life insurance taken out on her?

Just from memory (and believe me that doesn't count for much!) I think there was some but not a massive amount. Michael Blagg was quite a high earner but he did seem to be very concerned about money, as some quite well-off people can be. The True Crime Brewery podcast did mention that the couple moved frequently for his career and that he encouraged calls from recruiters to try and bargain up to a higher salary in a different post.

So, for me, I think he might well fit into the type of man who wouldn't take kindly to his wife and daughter leaving and having to pay alimony and child support. I can't remember if there was evidence Jennifer was going to leave but there was definitely evidence that the marriage was under strain (a letter found from Michael in her handbag) whereas at first, Blagg pretended that everything was well between them.
 
I too believe he is guilty of this crime. We shall see how the Defense presents their case!

I'm ready! Any twitter accounts out there? Or will this be live-streamed?

Anyone know?? TIA!
 
I did a quick search and found these two have tweeted on the Blagg case.

https://twitter.com/DailySentinelGJ

https://twitter.com/Matt_Kroschel


I'll keep them open tomorrow and see if anyone tweets. I haven't found any live-stream though, but then I'm in Europe and it blocks some sites from my laptop.

edited to add: Does anyone know "what time" this trial starts tomorrow? Again TIA!
 
I did a quick search and found these two have tweeted on the Blagg case.

https://twitter.com/DailySentinelGJ

https://twitter.com/Matt_Kroschel


I'll keep them open tomorrow and see if anyone tweets. I haven't found any live-stream though, but then I'm in Europe and it blocks some sites from my laptop.

edited to add: Does anyone know "what time" this trial starts tomorrow? Again TIA!
Jury selection tomorrow....still looking for a time.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/02/19/michael-blagg-grand-junction/

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I did a quick search and found these two have tweeted on the Blagg case.

https://twitter.com/DailySentinelGJ

https://twitter.com/Matt_Kroschel


I'll keep them open tomorrow and see if anyone tweets. I haven't found any live-stream though, but then I'm in Europe and it blocks some sites from my laptop.

edited to add: Does anyone know "what time" this trial starts tomorrow? Again TIA!

I don't think there will be live stream. See the attached media document from the court.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Case_Details.cfm?Case_ID=2519

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So from your post #10 -
B) All parties entering the courthouse must comply with CJO 2017-09; however, all electronic devices, including but not limited to, computers, cameras, cell phones, tape recorders, iPads or other recording or transmitting devices, or any devices capable of communicating from the inside of the Courtroom shall be barred. This provision does not apply to Court employees, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the prosecution team or the defense team. A camera staging area will be designated on the fifth floor of the courthouse for credentialed media only.

So no twitter either then?

And thanks for the court docket!

Well, I'll keep the 2 tweeter accounts open JUST in case they tweet something....
 
So, what time is it in Colorado - 8:30am?? 9 hours behind me??

just editing to say - neither of the tweeters I have open have mentioned anything about trial....
 
[FONT=&quot]Here in Golden to cover the [/FONT]#MichaelBlagg[FONT=&quot] trial, and Day 1 is off to a chilly start.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Starting coverage of the [/FONT]#MichaelBlagg[FONT=&quot] trial I've just learned that the public is not permitted to bring phones or even laptops into the courtroom. Also, can't interview people in the courthouse. Will have to try to catch ppl in aforementioned 1 degree. [outside in other words]

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The judge in the [/FONT]#MichaelBlagg[FONT=&quot] trial delayed jury selection one day in a recent hearing. Selection was originally slated to start today.

https://twitter.com/gabyreport
[/FONT]
 
Tortoise said:
The[FONT=&amp] judge in the [/FONT]#MichaelBlagg[FONT=&amp] trial delayed jury selection one day in a recent hearing. Selection was originally slated to start today.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]

So, no jury selection today? She mentions "in a recent hearing" - wondering if that means today?? :thinking:
So I take nothing happened today?

Absolutely nothing from the 2 I have open!
[/FONT]
 
No media today...hopefully things pick up tomorrow.

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Blagg, whose trial is expected to begin today with jury selection, has been in Mesa County's public eye since 2001, when he reported his wife and 6-year-old daughter, Abby, missing from the family's Redlands home. He was convicted of Jennifer's murder in 2004 by a Mesa County jury. Blagg's conviction was reversed in 2014, however, when a judge granted him a new trial after juror misconduct came to light.


Blagg's new trial was transferred to Jefferson County after defense attorneys argued he would not receive a fair retrial in Mesa County.


"This produces an irony that turns the First Amendment on its head: the greater the public interest in a case, the less able the public is to monitor it," Zansberg wrote.

Zansberg added that while other Colorado judges have restricted newsgathering activities at the courthouse "primarily to reduce the number of reporters and TV camera- persons in the corridors of the courthouse," Russell's order restricting transmitting devices — effectively curtailing social media coverage from inside the courtroom — is more unusual.

"That category of prohibition, ironically, is likely to produce more rather than less disruption in the courtroom, as reporters will leave the courtroom more frequently to provide readers with timely updates of the proceedings," Zansberg wrote. "Their silent tweeting from the courtroom, in contrast, is essentially unnoticed."

https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/wes...cle_6f7d07c2-16d5-11e8-b3fa-10604b9f6eda.html
 
I think the fact that her retainer was found with her remains---seals the GUILTY verdict for me. She would have taken that retainer out as soon as she woke up. So the killer shot her while she slept.

A random burglar would have shot her and left her where she lay.

I hope the prosecutor drives that point home.
 
Here's some tweets from yesterday and a link to an article in the 2nd tweet. But NOTHING about "what" happened in court yesterday!!! :gaah:

The Daily Sentinel Retweeted
Mike Wiggins
‏ @mikewiggins76
Feb 19

I covered the Blagg murder trial gavel to gavel in 2004. 14 years & a finding of juror misconduct later, @gabyreport will do the same. Here's her Sunday piece recapping the case & looking at challenges of retrial. Jury selection starts Tuesday in Golden: http://bit.ly/2oakw3I


The Daily Sentinel Retweeted
Robert McLean
‏ @mclea1re
18h18 hours ago

It's been 14 years since a Mesa County jury convicted Michael Blagg of murdering his wife, a conviction that would later be overturned due to juror misconduct.
The retrial begins today.
Story here http://bit.ly/2oakw3I from Sunday's @DailySentinelGJ via @gabyreport


link for tweets: https://twitter.com/DailySentinelGJ


So, as you say Henry we wait..... :waiting:
 

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