GREELEY, Colo.—Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck has said he needs more time to investigate whether a police officer violated the law when he put together a murder case against a man whose conviction was overturned because of new DNA evidence.
Attorneys for Timothy Masters, who was released from prison in January, claim Fort Collins police officer Jim Broderick may have perjured himself and illegally eavesdropped on their client.
Broderick has denied any wrongdoing.
Buck was expected to reveal his findings last week but says it could be at least three more weeks before a key witness is available. The district attorney’s office has conducted 28 interviews, according to a written statement released Friday.
Masters was convicted in 1999 in the stabbing and sexual mutilation of Fort Collins resident Peggy Hettrick in 1987. Hettrick’s body was found in a field south of Fort Collins, about 100 feet from where Masters lived.
The case against Masters, who was 15 when Hettrick was killed, was built on circumstantial evidence. His conviction and life sentenced were thrown when new DNA tests pointed to another possible suspect, who has not been publicly identified.
