A ruling was made on Friday to deny two motions filed by Russell Holt’s attorney earlier in the week.
The two motions were change of venue and not allowing statements made by Holt to police to be used in court.
Holt is charged in the shooting death of 27-year-old Jessica Wolfe last year.
The court heard the motion hearings on Monday and at the end of the two and a half hour hearing held on Monday Judge Tillman Self left the issue of venue change on the table after agreeing with the prosecution that it is premature to decide on whether or not a fair jury can be picked in Houston County. Self did entertain the idea of changing the location from the Houston County Superior Court building to the Houston County State Court building.
Hogue presented the idea to the court and said that he felt it wouldn’t be fair to have the jury enter a building in which both Wolfe and Holt worked and it be a hostile environment.
Hogue also asked the court to not allow any of the statements Holt gave police the night of Wolfe’s murder to be used. Hogue argued that his client’s Fifth Amendment rights were violated because he asked for an attorney, but that interrogation by police continued without any attempt to let Holt contact an attorney.
The prosecuting attorney, Pete Skandalakis, said he understood the grounds of not using the interrogation footage, but asked the court to allow statements Holt made to himself while in the interrogation room alone.
The trial is set to begin on April 27.
HHJ News
