FORT COLLINS, Colo.—A special prosecutor said he planned to acknowledge problems with how evidence was turned over to defense attorneys in a case that ended with a first-degree murder conviction.
Whether that acknowledgment means Tim Masters will get a new trial or even freed from a life sentence, was unclear. Special prosecutors Mike Goodbee would release few details.
Masters was found guilty in 1999 in the death of Peggy Hettrick of Fort Collins, who was killed 11 years earlier.
“I intend, between now and the next court date, to file some factual stipulations. I just wanted to let you know … there are some stipulations with respect to discovery violations that we will be making in this case,” Goodbee told a judge Thursday.
Special prosecutor Don Quick said Wednesday he is not merely trying to defend the original conviction but also trying to determine if Masters got a fair trial. He said his team has uncovered numerous documents and reports that they turned over to defense attorney David Wymore.
In a monthslong hearing under way in Larimer County District Court, Goodbee next week is expected to put on the stand former prosecutors Jolene Blair and Terry Gilmore, who are now Larimer County judges, along with Lt. Jim Broderick of Fort Collins police.
Defense lawyer David Wymore has argued that police and the original prosecutors were so intent on convicting Masters that they spent a decade building a case that ignored key evidence.
Masters’ original defense lawyers testified they never received documents and reports that turned up later, which they said would have helped Masters’ case.
The officials who handled the original case have defended their work.
Masters’ conviction rested on evidence that included a psychological analysis, violent pictures he had drawn, the fact that he lived 100 feet from where Hettrick’s body was found, and that police said he had seen the body but didn’t report it.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan,
