Updated – Michelle Kehoe's Lawyer Wants a Mock Jury

Last year I wrote about Michelle Lynn Kehoe. Michelle is the woman from Coralville, IA who allegedly taped her sons’ eyes, noses and mouths shut and then sliced their throats. One of the boys lived and initially Kehoe made up some cock and bull story about being kidnapped but she eventually recanted that.

Kehoe still hasn’t had her trial, almost a year later, and now her attorney doesn’t think that she can get a fair trial in Buchanan County due to the media coverage of the case and wants it moved. As a matter of fact her attorney, Public Defender Andrea Dryer stated that there were some online comments on web sites that included profanities and opinions (say it isn’t so!) about what should be done with Kehoe.

Her attorney has asked a judge to consider putting together a mock jury in order to see if Kehoe could get a fair trial in Buchanan County. The hearing, which Kehoe attended, was this past Wednesday. The prosecution opposes both requests and says that while there has been a lot of coverage it was state wide and she is no more likely to get a different jury in a different county than she is in Buchanan.

The judge has delayed his decision in the matter and a hearing has been set for September 18th to consider it.

Update 9/29/09 – The trial for Michelle Kehoe will no
longer take place in Buchanan County. It has been moved to Grundy
County in order to make sure that she gets a fair trial. The defense
team for Kehoe is planning on pursuing an insanity defense, which for a
change I tend to agree with. I don’t think that makes her any less
guilty but she needs to be incarcerated in a mental institution
somewhere where she can’t hurt anyone else.

Update II 11/6/09 – After deliberating for just over an hour and a half the jury has found Michelle Kehoe guilty of First-Degree Murder, Attempted Murder and Child Endangerment Causing Serious Injury. She faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole for the heinous murder of one of her sons.