JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jurors heard competing theories Monday about when and how Jennifer Blagg’s body was dumped in the Mesa County landfill.
Investigators found Jennifer Blagg June 4, 2002 after weeks of searching individual bucket loads of trash from an excavator. Photos and video shown to the jury showed the moment her body was found, a single leg dangling outside of what would later be identified as a red tent.
Prosecutors claim she was found near trash from Ametek-Dixson, her husband’s employer.
“It was kind of our guide,” Richard Dillon, a former commander with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, said. “If we were into Ametek-Dixon trash, we would stay in that direction. If we lost it, we would change direction.”
He described the white plastic gauges and green punch cards they found, indicating they were digging into Ametek-Dixon trash.
The defense countered that evidence by pointing to the bucket load that brought Jennifer Blagg’s body out of the ground. It contained Home Depot flyers and a Rocky Mountain newspaper from Nov. 17, 2001 — several days after Jennifer and 6-year-old Abby Blagg disappeared.
“Did you ever look into figuring out when Home Depot trash had been brought to the landfill,” public defense Scott Troxell said.
“No,” Dillon replied.
The prosecution claims Michael Blagg shot his wife, loaded her in the family minivan and disposed of her body in dumpster at his work in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2001. The defense’s theory is that someone else — possibly a child predator — broke into the Blagg home while Michael Blagg was at work, killed Jennifer Blagg and kidnapped Abby Blagg.
The 6-year-old has never been found.
That’s an important point for the defense. Public defender Tina Fang asked the court Monday afternoon to consider accepting video testimony from a man named Thomas Furry. He claims he saw Abby Blagg at a gas station in Utah several days after she went missing.
“It goes to the heart of our defense,” Fang said, noting that if the jury believes Furry then Michael Blagg isn’t the killer.
Furry didn’t testify at the first trial, and Fang argued that he’s unavailable to come testify this time.
“He’s locked up out of state, and I have no authority to get him here,” Fang said.
She was told she’d need “a governor’s warrant” to transport him.
Deputy Mesa County prosecutor Trish Marsh objected to the video or statements Furry gave to investigators back in 2001. If Furry’s going to testify, she wants the chance to cross examine him in person. She also didn’t think the cost of bringing him here should be a reason to allow the defense to use the video.
Judge Tamara Russell said she would think about it and decide what she’s going to do.
She also said she’s going to take a more active role in policing the time the prosecution is taking to try the case. They’re running several days behind schedule, and Russell indicated she’s concerned that some of the jurors might not be able to continue to serve.
“We’re trying very hard to make up some time,” Russell said. That’s why testimony is scheduled to start 30 minutes earlier Tuesday at 8 a.m.