JEFFERSON COUNTY - On what would be Abby Blagg’s 23rd birthday, lawyers spent much of the afternoon in a debate about what her grandmother could and could not say during her father’s second murder trial — an argument that turned so contentious the defense went as far as to ask for a mistrial.
Marilyn Conway has sat in the front row courtroom 5C in the Jefferson County courthouse for nearly a month. She finally took the witness stand on Wednesday afternoon, but her testimony was interrupted by objections, bench conferences and requests to leave the room as Michael Blagg’s public defenders sought to prevent her from discussing topics they say could convict the now-55-year-old in the eyes of the jury.
TUESDAY MORNING STORY: 'It's getting painful': Michael Blagg's attorney grills disgraced state official, investigator
Photos of Michael, Jennifer and Abby Blagg
“This case, more than any case, warrants a mistrial,” Public Defender Tina Fang said once the jury was dismissed for the day.
Much of the contention hinged on a conversation Conway said she had with Michael Blagg a few days after he was released from the hospital following an attempt to take his own life.
Conway confronted her son-in-law after she was told that investigators found a trove of porn on his computer. Her daughter Jennifer Blagg’s body would not be found in the Mesa County landfill until four months after this phone call occurred.
“I asked several times ‘what was he thinking?’” Conway said in reference to the porn in the house. “I told him he was completely responsible.”
This second statement, Fang said, made it seem like Conway was implying the disappearance of Jennifer Blagg and her 6-year-old daughter Abby were Michael Blagg’s fault. Fang also claimed that she “glared” at Michael Blagg from the witness stand.
The prosecution said this wasn’t the case, and the conversation dealt with the use of porn, a topic that has been widely discussed in the trial as proof of what the district attorney says was marital strife.
Judge Tamara Russell agreed, and let the testimony continue.
But the topic once again turned into something the defense didn’t believe the jury should hear.
Conway testified about how she asked Michael Blagg, “Mike, did you kill my babies?”
His response, according to her notes, was, “Mama, you know I love Jennifer and Abby.”
The prosecution said this was neither a confession nor a denial. Fang said once again, this hints that Conway thinks Michael Blagg killed his wife and is telling the jury her opinion.
Michael Blagg was found guilty of Jennifer’s murder in 2004, but that conviction was overturned after a juror was caught lying on her questionnaire about being the victim of domestic violence.
This is why Mesa County prosecutors are once again trying to prove their case against the former Navy helicopter pilot and operations manager at a manufacturing plant — this time in Jefferson County, where the case was moved because of its notoriety on the Western Slope.
Prosecutors say during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2001, Michael Blagg shot Jennifer in the face while she was sleeping, wrapped her body in a tent, loaded her into the family minivan and then threw the body of his wife of nearly 10 years into the dumpster at his office, Ametek Dixson.
Her body was found in the Mesa County landfill on June 4, 2002 — amid what the district attorney’s office says was a “plume” of Ametek Dixson trash.
Michael Blagg’s public defenders say a child predator killed Jennifer and kidnapped Abby, and that ever since the investigation has been tainted by the false belief that it’s “always the husband.”
Michael Blagg’s second trial is now two weeks behind schedule, but the prosecution is expected to rest their case on Friday.
During Michael Blagg’s first trial, Conway testified about allegations of domestic violence in her daughter’s marriage.
This was not a topic on Wednesday. Instead, she talked about her relationship with Jennifer, a woman she called “a very good friend” who spent spoke to on the phone “nearly every day.”
Conway recounted how Jennifer Blagg was supposed to call her on Nov. 13, 2001 to ask about a doctor’s appointment, but that all she heard was silence. Repeated attempts to reach her daughter were unsuccessful.
“I called several times, and I called late in the evening,” Conway said. “And then I didn’t call anymore. And then they knocked on my door.”
She was talking about the police officers who first told her that her only daughter and 6-year-old granddaughter were missing.
Other parts of her testimony dealt with a time Michael Blagg lifted her up (proof, according to the prosecution, he could have carried his wife’s body) and when she learned her son-in-law had a 9 mm handgun that he brought on hikes to ward off wild animals.
When Tina Fang tried to ask Conway about previous testimony where she said she knew Michael Blagg had back problems, Conway accidentally made a statement about a previous trial.
Fang also used this as proof there should be a mistrial, and argued this is prejudicial to the jury. Deputy Mesa County District Attorney Mark Hand said this shouldn’t be the case, and that the previous trial has been discussed by accident multiple times over the last four weeks.
“I don’t think she needs to be chastised,” Judge Tamara Russell said of Conway at one point. “I don’t think she did anything wrong.”
Fang said she believes Conway may have been intentionally trying to cause a mistrial, for reasons she didn’t know. While she acknowledged Russell’s comment that she likely wouldn’t grant a mistrial, Fang asked that Conway be excluded as a witness.
“The bell has been rung by this witness repeatedly,” Fang said.
Hand said Conway’s comments about the previous trial were not intentional, and she was confused by Fang’s question.
The prosecution has repeatedly spoken to Conway about who she can and cannot say, Hand said.
Court is expected to resume at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday — and Conway will once again be on the witness stand. In the meantime, Judge Russell will work to determine what to make of Wednesday's arguments.
9NEWS will be in the courtroom and will post updates to 9NEWS and 9NEWS.com when they become available.