GRAND JUNCTION — Michael Blagg no longer is a convicted murderer, but he remains behind bars in Mesa County for the time being as attorneys, a district judge and the Colorado Supreme Court weigh in on this unusual case.
Blagg, 51, is being held on $500,000 bail — and a Supreme Court stay — after for killing his wife, Jennifer Blagg. His conviction was vacated because one juror lied about her background.
Blagg had been serving a lifetime prison sentence without parole in the state Department of Corrections before he was returned to Mesa County after the guilty verdict was vacated in June and a new trial was ordered.
Mesa District Judge David Bottger had scheduled a court date in late October so a new bail could be set. But last week, after Blagg made a first appearance to begin procedural steps for a new trial, Bottger said the effect of the order vacating the conviction was “to return this case to its legal posture before trial.”
That meant reinstating the $500,000 bail that Blagg paid to get out of jail after his arrest for murder and abuse of a corpse in 2002.
Bottger’s order, issued after Blagg’s advisement hearing had ended, opened the possibility that Blagg could walk out of jail last weekend. It set off a flurry of motions from Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger.
Hautzinger claimed Bottger’s order violated the Colorado Victim’s Rights Amendment because family members of the victim were not given a chance to attend a bail hearing or to weigh in on the amount of bail.
The Supreme Court responded by ordering the judge to show why his setting $500,000 bail should not be reversed or set aside. Blagg must remain behind bars during that time.
Assistant District Attorney Rich Tuttle said a ruling on that could take weeks or months. He called the Supreme Court’s ruling “a time out.”
Blagg, who has gone from “convicted murderer” to “murder suspect” as the machinations of a new trial move forward, was arrested after his wife’s remains were found in the Mesa County landfill in a plume of trash that came from his work place.
She, and , disappeared from their home in fall 2001.
Blagg was convicted of murdering Jennifer by a jury of 12 based on circumstantial evidence.
Jennifer’s blood was found in the family’s minivan. There was no sign of a forced entry. And Blagg’s behavior on the day he reported her missing led investigators to search the landfill and find Jennifer’s body.
Abby’s body still has not been found.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm
