Serrano attorneys want visits private for ‘trial strategy’

Attorneys for a man accused of murder want to keep some jail visits private.

Pablo Serrano-Vitorino is being held in the St. Louis City Jail, accused of killing a man in Montgomery County as well as four others.

Serrano’s attorneys said the request was made to protect their trial strategy.

Serrano, an undocumented immigrant, faces the death penalty in the death of Randy Nordmann in 2016. Law enforcement said he was on the run for killing four others in Kansas City, Kansas just a day before.

The attorneys said federal and state court opinions show Serrano can meet with certain medical experts while in jail, without having to disclose those visits to prosecutors. This includes mental health evaluations.

The attorneys are asking the court to seal the nature of the visits and their results.

The filing doesn’t specify what type of medical visits Serrano will have, but it does say they may need to move him from the St. Louis jail because those doctors, and even the attorneys, have to sign in before visiting.

A hearing in Serrano’s case is scheduled for next Monday in St. Louis. His case is set for trial in 2018.