Cole County murder suspect wants evidence kept out of trial
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) -
The suspect in a 1991 Cole County murder case wants several pieces of evidence left out of a future trial.
The requests filed by attorneys for William "Chris" Niemet include leaving out newly-tested evidence for DNA, a 1991 lie detector test and witness statements made about a possible weapon used to kill 14-year-old Greg Jones. Attorneys also asked a judge to require the Cole County prosecutor to provide more specifics on the crime it is accusing him of committing.
County prosecutor Locke Thompson announced the charge against Niemet on February 27, 2020. It marked the second time authorities in Cole County pursued a case against Niemet for Jones' death. The sheriff's office arrested Niemet six days after finding Jones' body near Russellville, when Niemet was 15 years old. A judge dropped the case against Niemet after the juvenile office said it couldn't make a "solid recommendation" on charges.
Niemet attorney Curtis Hanrahan called into question many of the statements law enforcement used to charge Niemet. The testimony from a neighbor that claimed Niemet may have stolen his gun, for example, is based only on the fact that Niemet had visited the home before. Hanrahan claims prosecutors have not identified a specific weapon that was used to kill Jones.
Hanrahan's request for a bill of particulars said the county no longer has evidence that may help Niemet's case - evidence prosecutors are required to give defendants. The motion said "someone" ordered the 1991 case file destroyed and that a 1993 fire destroyed the juvenile office's investigation.
"If those things happened, then the facts known by the state now are necessarily the same facts known in 1991 such that, like then, there is no basis for charging [Niemet] now," Hanrahan wrote.
Thompson said last year that advances in forensic technology helped them make a case after 29 years. Hanrahan, though, said that he is still waiting on DNA testing results on at least two socks that the Missouri State Highway Patrol said has "sufficient male DNA." Six other socks and shirt, he claims, came back without enough useful DNA evidence for testing.
Thompson declined to comment on the motions on Friday afternoon.
Niemet is currently out of the Cole County Jail on bond. A hearing is scheduled in the case for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
