The jury acquits William Hoehn of the plot in the assassination of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind



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The decision came about two weeks after Hoehn's trial began in the Cass County District Court, which heard testimony from some 20 witnesses.

The six women and six men of the jury began their deliberations at 3 pm Thursday and delivered their verdict around 16h Friday.

Hoehn, 33, and her 39-year-old ex-girlfriend, Brooke Crews, have been charged with conspiracy to murder LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old pregnant woman, and her mother. take off her baby.

Crews pleaded guilty in December and is currently serving a life sentence.

Prior to the trial, Hoehn had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit the kidnapping commission and to a charge of lying to the police in connection with the death of LaFontaine-Greywind. Hoehn will be sentenced at a later date. He remains in custody at Cass County Jail.

The maximum prison sentence for conspiracy to kidnap is 20 years. The maximum penalty for lying to the police is 360 days.

After the verdict on Friday, prosecutor Leah Viste said she would recommend a sentence in the top bracket of the conviction range.

She expressed her disappointment with the verdict, stating that the prosecutors were still convinced that the evidence presented in this case led to a finding of guilt and that the charge of conspiracy was appropriate.

Viste said that the conspiracy can be a difficult concept to pass for jurors, and she acknowledged that Crews, the main prosecution witness and Hoehn's co-accused, had "obviously" credibility problems.

Defense attorney Daniel Borgen declined to comment on the case, saying that he would only talk about the case after Hoehn's conviction for kidnapping and lying under charges from the police.

During the trial, Borgen insisted that a crucial element of the conspiracy to commit murder, namely that one or more people had agreed in advance to kill someone. one, did not apply to this case.

Court officials said that LaFontaine-Greywind's family members were not ready to talk about the verdict on Friday afternoon either.

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Disappearance of Savanna

LaFontaine-Greywind disappeared on August 19, 2017 after being invited by Crews into her apartment to help her complete a non-existent sewing project.

When questioned by the police, Hoehn and Crews claimed in the following days that they did not know where LaFontaine-Greywind was.

On August 24, 2017, police learned that Hoehn was talking to a colleague about his newborn baby that Crews had had and that Hoehn had bought baby diapers from Walmart.

On that day, the police executed a search warrant at the Crews and Hoehn apartment and found the baby in good health at LaFontaine-Greywind, which allowed them to be arrested.

The body of LaFontaine-Greywind was found in the Red River on August 27, 2017.

The crews, who testified on behalf of the prosecution, stated that there had never been an explicit plan to kill LaFontaine-Greywind and cut his baby from his belly.

She said that she and Hoehn were eager to have a child and she said that she felt compelled by Hoehn to produce a baby as she could.

The crews testified that she had lured LaFontaine-Greywind into the couple's apartment and that a fight ensued, during which LaFontaine-Greywind fell and hit her head against the sink. bathroom.

This information seemed to contradict the medical examiner's findings that LaFontaine-Greywind had suffered no head injuries.

Exact cause of unknown death

The crews testified that after hitting LaFontaine-Greywind's head, she underwent a rough caesarean section, removing the baby while her mother came in and out of consciousness.

The teams said Hoehn had returned home shortly after to find LaFontaine-Greywind on the bathroom floor.

She said that he cursed and asked if she was dead.

When the teams replied, "I do not know. Please, help me, "Crews said. Hoehn left the bathroom and got underwear with a rope.

According to the teams, Hoehn tied the rope around LaFontaine-Greywind's neck and said, "If she had not died before, she would be dead now."

The defense suggested that LaFontaine-Greywind was attacked shortly after arriving at the apartment at around 1:30 pm August 19, 2017, and that she was probably dead by the time Hoehn came home around 2:30 pm.

The forensic evidence suggests that LaFontaine-Greywind died of strangulation or blood loss, but the precise cause could not be determined.

Hoehn took a stand in his own defense and denied putting a rope around LaFontaine-Greywind's neck.

Forum reporter Wendy Reuer contributed to this report.

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