Case of slain South Bend 10-year-old likely going to trial next month

April 19, 2012|By MARY KATE MALONE | South Bend Tribune

South Bend Tribune/JAMES BROSHER St. Joseph County police escort Terry Sturgis into the St. Joseph County Courthouse on Thursday, April 19, 2012, in downtown South Bend. Sturgis is charged with murdering his 10-year-old son, Tramelle. (April 19, 2012)

SOUTH BEND -- Terry Sturgis is scheduled for trial next month on 14 criminal charges, despite his attorney's efforts to have some of the charges dismissed, or have them separated into two different trials.

At a hearing Thursday, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller denied attorney Jeff Kimmell's motions on behalf of Sturgis.

Sturgis is accused of beating his 10-year-old son to death and abusing his other children over a three-year period.

Kimmell had argued two of the charges -- one alleging neglect of Tramelle and the other alleging neglect of Tramelle's sibling -- lack specificity and made him unable to mount an effective defense. He asked that they be dismissed.

The state responded on Monday by filing a new affidavit from homicide detective Galen Pelletier which states the children told authorities about years of neglect and abuse at the hands of their father.

Kimmell had also requested that the case be separated into two trials -- one involving crimes allegedly committed on Nov. 4, the day of Tramelle's death, and the other concerning crimes that happened before then.

Kimmell said he was concerned that Sturgis would not receive a fair trial on the murder charge if the state simultaneously presented evidence of alleged child abuse dating back to August 2008.

But the judge denied that motion as well, saying jurors are always instructed to consider each case independently, and that in this case they would be "instructed in such a way that each crime is delineated."

Other developments

The judge said the court will be calling 120 potential jurors -- rather than the usual 60 -- when Sturgis goes to trial next month.

Given widespread media attention on the case, the judge wanted a larger pool of people from which to find impartial jurors.

The trial will last more than a week, since Sturgis must leave court every day except Tuesday and Thursday by no later than 4:30 p.m. to receive his five-hour dialysis treatment.
Kimmell, Sturgis' attorney, said he has been negotiating with the prosecutor's office over a possible plea agreement, but he said he did not know if reaching one is a "realistic possibility."

Defendants in most cases negotiate with prosecutors, but it does not always result in a plea agreement.

Staff writer Mary Kate Malone:
mmalone@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6337

|

|

|