PROVO, Utah (AP) - A Utah man on trial for the second time in his wife’s death was found not guilty Friday of murder and obstruction of justice.
The jury verdict means Conrad Truman was set to be freed for the first time since his arrest in the summer of 2013. He was accused of fatally shooting his wife, Heidy Truman, at their Orem home in 2012.
“This is a day long coming,” said Mark Moffat, Truman’s attorney.
Truman was convicted of murder during his first trial in 2014, but a judge later overturned that verdict because of faulty police measurements of the house where the shooting took place. The judge said the measurements wrongly undermined the defense theory that 25-year-old Heidy Truman shot herself.
Mark Moffat, Truman’s attorney, said the accurate measurements were key in the jury realizing Truman isn’t guilty, the Daily Herald reports (https://bit.ly/2lEBqFs ).
His sister, Colette Dahl, smiled and cried as she and her family walked out of court. “We’re just glad that the truth has finally put this nightmare to an end,” Dahl said.
Heidy Truman’s family didn’t comment as they left the courtroom.
During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors said Truman gave conflicting stories about the night his wife died. Defense attorneys argued that Orem police were too quick to narrow down Truman as a suspect.
Prosecutor Tim Taylor said he respected the verdict even though it went against him.
“Once an individual has been found not guilty, that’s it, there’s nothing that our office can do,” Taylor said. “This case is over with.”
Moffat wouldn’t say if Truman will file a civil lawsuit against Orem Police or the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
Moffat and Ann Taliaferro, another member of the defense team, said Truman will need to time to adjust to life outside jail after nearly four years behind bars.
“Maybe he’ll get a chance to grieve,” Taliaferro said. “He never got that chance.”
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Information from: The Daily Herald, https://www.heraldextra.com
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