After some discussion as to whether to close a Riley County murder retrial motions hearing to the public and media, Judge Meryl Wilson allowed the Tuesday Luis Aguirre hearing to be open. Aguirre is facing a new trial after the Kansas Supreme Court reversed his earlier conviction more than two years ago in connection with the 2009 double-murder case involving a mother and son in Ogden-Tanya Maldonado, 18, and her son Juan,1.
While Defense Attorney Chris Biggs expressed concern about the jury pool and pretrial publicity, Judge Wilson began his response by describing “free and open court” as a “cornerstone,” adding while he had already ordered a number of filings in the case as sealed, that unless there is a compelling reason such as a minor child, he believes in allowing the citizens and press. Judge Wilson also mentioned the already extensive publicity in the case and Supreme Court opinion that is also public. And he made note of the large jury pool in the county, speculating there should still be a significant number of potential jurors with no knowledge, and even those with some knowledge may be able to set aside opinions on the mater.
Several motions were considered, with three people taking the stand during the three hour hearing, including Aguirre’s former fiancee Dulce Mendez, and Riley County Police Detectives Brian Johnson and Sonia Gregoire. Mendez was questioned about a statement she reportedly heard from Aguirre involving his version of what happened,although she could not remember if she received that through a letter or a phone call. Mendez was deployed in Iraq at the time the killings occurred.
Detective Johnson recalled a recent interview with Mendez at her home in Austin, Texas, which he had recorded. And Detective Gregoire, who took the stand late in the hearing, addressed a search warrant involving Aguirre’s Facebook page.
Judge Wilson determined there was no evidence that Mendez fraudulently destroyed any letters from Mendez that might have contained such a statement. Other motions dealt with what can be introduced at the trial, particularly pertaining to witnesses who testified at the first trial. And there was considerable discussion about jury selection, with individual voir dire planned to begin on February seventh.
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