ap

Skip to content
Michael Blagg looks towards his attorney, David Eisner,  left, during proceedings in his murder trial Wednesday, April 7, 2004, in Grand Junction, Colo
Michael Blagg looks towards his attorney, David Eisner, left, during proceedings in his murder trial Wednesday, April 7, 2004, in Grand Junction, Colo
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...

GRAND JUNCTION — whose alleged lies sparked a new trial for Michael Blagg is stalled until the Colorado Supreme Court issues a ruling on Blagg’s continued incarceration.

Juror Marilyn Charlesworth appeared in Mesa District Court on Monday but no action could be taken on her case because any matters linked to Blagg’s new murder trial are frozen while the court considers an appeal of a bond setting for Blagg.

“It stopped everything in this case,” said Dan Rubenstein, chief deputy district attorney for the 21st Judicial District.

Charlesworth was one of 12 jurors who in 2004 found Blagg guilty in 2004 of murdering his wife three years earlier and placing her body in a dumpster. this summer after a judge determined Charlesworth had lied about her background and her lies could have impacted the outcome of Blagg’s six-week-long trial.

Charlesworth was charged with contempt of court in August. Prosecutors are seeking to have her pay back the cost of Blagg’s first trial if she is found guilty. That amount would include travel costs, expert witness fees and the expense of issuing subpoenas. The amount is estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Charlesworth could also be sentenced to up to six months in jail.

Blagg, 51, remains in the Mesa County Jail while the Supreme Court decides on whether he should be released on a $500,000 bond without input from the victim’s family. The district attorney’s office filed an appeal arguing that a judge didn’t have the authority to reset Blagg’s bond at the same level it was following his arrest 12 years ago.

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm

RevContent Feed

More in News