A Saginaw man has been bound over to trial in relation to the 2010 homicide of a Midland woman after a preliminary hearing in Saginaw County’s 70th District Court. The man will face trial for charges, including first-degree premeditated murder, possession of Oxycontin with intent to deliver, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent and five counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Prosecutors claim that the victim had been charged with selling pills of the drug to a buyer. Witnesses at the preliminary hearing testified that the victim had plotted to steal the pills, and that she had gone to the parking lot to sell them. When she returned, witnesses say, she handed the defendant an envelope full of blank paper, claiming that the buyer had swindled her.
Witnesses said that the defendant, the victim and two other passengers drove around Midland looking for the buyer of the pills before returning a Saginaw home. According to testimony, the defendant said that he was going to kill the victim before he left the home with her and later returned alone. Witnesses say that the defendant then cleaned the back seat of the vehicle with bleach. A DNA test on fluids found in the back of the car was later allegedly found to be a match for the victim.
A criminal defense lawyer in a case similar to this one might attempt to discredit witness testimony, especially if the lawyer could show that the witnesses had also been involved in criminal activity. The lawyer might also question the results or quality of any DNA testing performed on pieces of evidence used to support the allegations against a client.
Source: Midland Daily News, “Saginaw man bound over on murder charge in case involving Midland woman”, Matthew Woods, July 18, 2014
