Nov 16, 2007 9:45 am US/Mountain
Lawyers Wait For DNA Tests In Masters' Case
Fort Collins Man Convicted Of Murder Wants New Trial
by Mike Hooker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Timothy Masters (File)
CBS
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Peggy Hettrick (File)
CBS
A judge has ordered both sides in the hearings to determine if a convicted killer in Fort Collins will get a new trial to meet next week and share evidence before the proceedings resume next month.
The order came after an attorney for Tim Masters told the court Thursday that DNA evidence collected from the murder scene does not match Masters.
He has been convicted of the murder of Peggy Hetterick in 1987. He's serving a life sentence.
Masters' attorneys have argued that he deserves a new trial because prosecutors hid evidence from the defense during the original trial.
The defense team revealed results of DNA testing it had done in The Netherlands.
The defense wants special prosecutors to do their own DNA testing to determine if the evidence matches an alternate suspect in the case.
Masters' lawyers have suggested that Dr. Richard Hammond, a sex offender living near where Hettrick's body was found in 1987, is a far better suspect than Masters ever was.
No physical evidence tied the then-15-year-old Masters directly to the crime scene.
Prosecutors said they're doing DNA tests, but also want to see the results Masters' team has. His lawyers refused to turn over the DNA profile.
"If there is a matching DNA profile for Dr. Hammond, for the love of God turn it over to us. We're in a position to be able to act on that," special prosecutor Mike Goodbee said Thursday. "This is about the pursuit of truth in the interest of justice."
That's why the judge ordered next week's so-called omnibus hearing where all sides share information.
Special prosecutors said they're handing over new discoveries and evidence over to the defense as they get them. Prosecutors seem frustrated that the evidence list keeps getting longer.
The special prosecutors have not started presenting their case against a new trial.
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