Michael Zutten murder trial delayed after last minute motion by the defense

It’s been six years since hikers found Heather Grimshaw’s remains and three years since her boyfriend, Michael Zutten, was arrested for the murder.

On Wednesday, just as Zutten was set to stand trial, his attorney filed a last-minute motion that stopped opening statements before they started.

“I do have profound concerns about the present situation,” said the judge presiding over the trial.

The motions were a Motion in Limine and a Dunbar Motion. They prevent the medical examiner and a forensic anthropologist from testifying about the cause and manner of death, as well as the time frame of decomposition.

That is because the medical examiner found the manner of death was homicide, but couldn’t say exactly how the victim died.

“Reading the motion, I think it’s a well-founded motion,” said former prosecutor Scot Goldberg.

Goldberg said his problem with the motion is the timing. Prosecutors and defense attorneys usually argue these motions long before trial.

When the motion was brought up in court the judge said, “I do believe it should have been previously raised.”

“And now all of a sudden, the day after jury selection, we get new rules of the game. And if those new rules are going to affect the way you’re going to question a witness or the way you’re going to present evidence to a jury, that becomes problematic for all the parties involved, and would probably result in some type of mistrial,” said Goldberg.

What makes this case so high profile is Zutten’s own Facebook post after Grimshaw’s death. He posted disturbing memes about hiding bodies.

Goldberg said, “now, is it possible they can still go forward and get a conviction? Absolutely.”

It’s a big decision for the judge to weigh and could either lead to an appeal or a mistrial.

Goldberg said a likely reason the defense waited so long to file the latest motion is that they didn’t like the jury.

The attorneys will argue the motion before the judge Thursday morning.