Physician/Attorney Martin MacNeill Found GUILTY of the murder of his wife Michele~ Sentenced to 15 To Life

The words, spoken as her mother was recovering at home from a facelift surgery, still haunt Alexis Somers.

"In case anything happens to me," Michele MacNeill, 50, told her daughter, "make sure it wasn't your dad."

Days later, Michele, a homemaker, was found lifeless by another daughter, Ada, then 6, in a bathtub in their upscale Pleasant Grove, Utah, home.

When the medical examiner concluded that her April 2007 death was due to natural causes, local police never opened a criminal investigation. Horrified, older daughters Alexis, 29, and Rachel, 32, frantically insisted to anyone who would listen that their mother's suspicions rang true and that their father, a prominent doctor-lawyer, should be investigated.

Now, after five years and much pressing by family members, Martin MacNeill, 56, was finally arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Aug. 24. After collecting new forensic expert opinions and a mountain of circumstantial evidence, authorities now allege he drugged then drowned his wife to continue an affair he was having.

"It turns out he was a father we never knew," Alexis tells PEOPLE. "We grew up loving our dad. But his entire life has been a lie." Adds Rachel: "Our lives have become a horror film."
An Alleged Trail of Deceit
The MacNeill sisters say their parents once had the ultimate love story: A handsome man with a promising career originally from New Jersey swept a young professional model from California off her feet.

Over the years, their mother's compassion knew no bounds as the devout Mormon family adopted three girls from Ukraine.

But in the year before her death in 2007, Michele began to suspect her husband was having an affair, according to the older sisters.

He'd become increasingly volatile, became obsessed with his looks, and eventually pressured his wife into having a facelift, they say.

When she finally agreed to undergo the surgery, her husband overmedicated her during the recovery, rendering her helpless at home – but she was still able to speak, giving the warning to her daughter, according to investigators.

Following Michele's death, with the help of their mother's younger sister Linda Cluff, the sisters began unraveling what they call their father's web of lies. These allegedly involved multiple affairs, his own falsified school transcripts, and even allegations that he may have killed other people, according to prosecutors.

In an arrest affidavit, a former girlfriend of MacNeill's says he previously confessed to killing his brother years ago, tried to kill his mother, and performed mercy killings at the medical center where he worked.Weeks before her mom's facelift, Alexis, after searching her father's cell phone records, identified a woman, Gypsy Willis, 35, whom he was calling at all hours. Just a week after their mother's funeral, the sisters were shocked when their dad introduced Willis, a nursing student, as the family's new live-in nanny to care for their younger sisters.

"The realization that our father was trying to replace our mother was pure horror," Rachel explains. "The only way we could function was out of concern for our little sisters and who would take care of them."

Detectives say MacNeill had been carrying on an affair with Willis for two years. Charging papers also say Willis's former roommate said Willis discussed possible ways to have Michele killed. In addition, Willis was in constant contact with MacNeill before, on the day of, and after Michele's death. Willis has not been formally charged in connection to the murder. (She could not be reached for comment.)

After Michele's death, Willis took on the identity of one of MacNeill's daughters in an attempt to clear her record of debt and for financial gain. In 2009, both MacNeill and Willis were convicted of identity theft and served time in prison while Michele's murder investigation was ongoing.
A Web of Lies?
Separately, the sisters' aunt, while frantically lobbying police to reopen the case, provided evidence that MacNeill falsified his own school records and had been convicted of check fraud back in the 1970s before his marriage to Michele.

"MacNeill's entire academic career, which included a law degree, was based on lies," says Jeff Robinson, a Utah County Attorney investigator. "This person was never qualified to be a doctor or lawyer in the first place. The fact that he was practicing medicine this whole time is disturbing."

Although MacNeill is currently back behind bars, the sisters still live in fear knowing that a murder conviction isn't guaranteed and believe their father is hell-bent on revenge.

"We won't rest until he's put away for good," says Alexis. "We can't stop looking behind our backs until he's been convicted for what he did to our mother."

MacNeill's attorney, Randy Spencer, says his client denies any wrongdoing and will fight the charges. He's due back in court on Sept. 4.

"There's no question Martin MacNeill is a sociopath, a man who does things purely for his own benefit regardless of who he harms," says Robinson. "This is a man who doesn't have a conscience."
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20625365,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+people%2Fheadlines+%28PEOPLE.com%3A+Top+Headlines%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

This is on NG right now.

The daughters of a doctor charged with murdering his wife five years ago have revealed they always knew he had planned to kill their mother and have waited 'so long' to see him arrested.

Alexis Somers and Rachel MacNeill also voiced their fears that Martin MacNeill, 56, a former Mormon Sunday school teacher, will come after them if he is ever released from jail.
The father of eight was booked into the Utah County Jail for first degree murder on Friday, just a month after he finished a three-year term in a Texas federal prison for fraud.

'We know he's guilty. We know he'll harm again. If he's let out he will come after us,' Rachel MacNeill told Good Morning America.
'It's horrible to be happy about the arrest of your father, but finally he is being held accountable for murdering my mother,' her sister added.

The women had long fought for police to re-open the case into their mother's death, certain their father had murdered after Michele MacNeill, 50, was found drowned in the bathtub at their Pleasant Grove home in 2007.

An autopsy indicated she died of natural causes, but a 2010 addendum to that report questioned the manner of death and authorities now say they believe she was drugged by her husband.

Her children say it was to cover up at least two affairs he was having; one was with a woman who moved into their home soon after their mother's death, posing as their nanny. The second, two years before his wife's death, told her psychiatrist she was having an affair with a 'serial killer'.

The unravelling of the MacNeill family began in 2005 when her father started losing weight, tanning and acting strangely, even disappearing for days at a time.

Until then, the children had had a 'loving and affectionate' Mormon childhood with their father, their beautiful mother and eight children, four of whom were from the Ukraine.

But, in 2007, Michele became convinced her husband was having an affair after she found out the same number had been called over and over again at strange hours of the morning.

A few days later, MacNeill came to his wife with a strange request: He wanted her to have a facelift.

Though she did not want to, she went along with her husband to keep him happy. Two weeks later, she had the surgery and was back at home recovering with Valium, Percocet, Phenergan and Ambien pills, supplied by her husband.
'He had a plan to murder my mother, and this was just part of his plan,' Somers told GMA.

Though heavily sedated, Michele told her daughter Alexis: 'Your dad kept giving me pills.'

A few days later, when she was feeling better after Alexis took control of her recovery, she told her daughter: 'In case anything happens to me, make sure it was not your father.'
Michele was found dead in the bathtub a few days later - just eight days after the surgery.

MacNeill claimed his wife slipped and fell, and he discovered her on returning home from collecting his then six-year-old daughter.

In a series of frantic 911 calls, he hung up on the operator three times in five minutes. He lied to the dispatcher about performing CPR and gave the wrong address of his residence, which delayed emergency responders, prosecutors claim.

According to an affidavit, Utah State Medical Examiner Todd Grey said the combination of medicines found in her body, which may have been forced upon her and could have been lethal.

'When my father called I knew he'd killed her,' Somers said. 'I just started screaming he killed her. I knew it.

'My father planned and orchestrated my mother's death, and he thought he could get away with it.'

An investigator with the Utah County Attorney's Office told People Magazine last year: 'There is probable cause to believe that Martin MacNeill had the opportunity, the motive, the psychological disposition and...the capability of killing his wife Michele MacNeill.'

Martin MacNeill's attorney, Randy Spencer, said on Friday it doesn't appear the county has any new evidence, and his client will fight the charges.

He also told her that he had killed his brother in their bathtub, had a burning desire to kill one of his daughters and offered to kill her husband for her if she so wished, the Deseret News reported.

When Rachel and Alexis threatened to have Michele's death investigated if they didn't get custody of their sisters, MacNeill dropped his children off the next day and never saw them again.

But after that he waged a furious campaign of intimidation telling his daughters he would 'destroy them'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2194311/Martin-MacNeil-Daughters-doctor-charged-mothers-murder-waited-long-arrest.html#ixzz25C7KLsY9

Big family: MacNeill, a doctor and Mormon Sunday school teacher, is father to eight children

Dr. Martin MacNeill Formally Charged With Wife's Murder

By PAUL FOY 08/27/12 07:14 PM ET

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah doctor who prosecutors say "led a life filled with contradictions, deception and manipulation" was formally charged Monday in his wife's death five years ago.

Dr. Martin MacNeill had long been under suspicion by Utah County authorities for his wife's death, from what prosecutors alleged was a lethal combination of drugs. It wasn't until his release from a federal prison in Texas for fraud that prosecutors moved to file charges of murder and obstruction of justice.

MacNeill has been held on $1 million bond at Utah County jail since Friday. He appeared in Provo's 4th District Court on Monday and is due to return Sept. 4 to choose an arraignment or an evidence hearing.

Michele MacNeill's listless body was found in a bathtub in 2007 at the couple's Pleasant Grove home, about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. The doctor's attorney, Randy Spencer, told The Associated Press on Friday his client denies wrongdoing and will fight the charges.

Spencer has said prosecutors have no new evidence. An arrest warrant says Martin MacNeill hounded his wife to get a facelift and arranged to get a "potent cocktail" of drugs for her recovery.

"I believe it was his intention to rid himself of his family and wife and that he set into action a series of events leading to Michelle's death," wrote Jeff Robinson, chief investigator for Utah County Attorney's Office, in an affidavit for the arrest warrant.

"Almost immediately upon calling 911, Martin started lying about the events surrounding Michelle's death," including his feeble efforts to resuscitate her, Robinson said.

The affidavit contains the explosive allegations from former girlfriends that MacNeill killed a brother and tried to kill his mother long ago. Robinson said he confirmed that the brother, Rufus Roy MacNeill, was found dead in a bathtub in New Jersey. He offered no other details.

Utah County prosecutor Chad Grunander told The Associated Press later Monday that state authorities don't believe Martin MacNeill was ever charged in connection with the deaths and they have no indication he was ever under investigation for them.

One former girlfriend, Anna Osborne, described MacNeill as a "serial killer" who threatened to kill a number of people. One of MacNeill's daughters told investigators he once offered to kill her to end her drug addiction.

His defense attorney didn't return two phone messages Monday from the AP.

Another daughter, Alexis Somers, said her father's "whole life" was a lie.

"I think he drugged my mother and drowned her," Somers, a 29-year-old medical resident at Utah Valley Family Medical Center in Provo, said Monday. "It's been horrifying – and horrifying that we had to wait for this day so long."

Medical authorities have not been able to agree on a cause of death for Michele MacNeill. At first it was listed as natural causes. Another expert speculated she died of a heart condition exacerbated by the drugs she was taking. Yet another determined she had drowned.

Investigators described Martin MacNeill as a lying adulterer who disguised a series of affairs, alleged sexual assaults and fraud with a lucrative medical practice in Pleasant Grove and a beautiful wife and eight children, four of whom were adopted.

Prosecutors say MacNeill contrived a medical condition, explaining to the people in his life that he was dying of cancer or multiple sclerosis, to absolve him of any motive in his wife's death. He also used it as an excuse for not being able to lift his wife from the bathtub, they say.

He repeatedly pushed his wife to get a facelift, even though she didn't want it, and he leaned on a plastic surgeon who was new to Utah to prescribe an unusual combination of pills for her recovery, authorities say. She already was suffering from depression and high-blood pressure. The surgeon told authorities he would not normally prescribe Valium or Ocycodone for her recovery.

Investigators who subpoenaed MacNeill's own medical records found that he was in good health. They say he told the Veteran's Administration in an application for assistance years ago that he had bipolar or anti-social disorders.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/dr-martin-macneill-charged-wifes-murder_n_1834886.html

"The old died in the bathroom alibi". Reminds me of that sicko, DP!! This dude was both a doctor AND a lawyer and thought he could get away w/it. I am so glad their daughters kept bugging LE until they looked further into this case!!

By Aaron Falk | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 7 hours ago • Updated 1 hour ago

Martin Joseph MacNeill’s story is one of contradictions.

At the time he was telling Veterans Affairs officials he was so debilitated by mental health issues that he could not hold a job or get an education, he was working as a doctor and also had a law degree.

A preliminary hearing on murder charges against Martin MacNeill begins Oct. 5 in 4th District Court and is slated to run five days. MacNeill’s attorney, Randall Spencer, requested a preliminary hearing “as soon as reasonably possible” on Tuesday, but prosecutors told Judge Samuel McVey that they needed at least a month to coordinate between 20 to 24 witnesses that could be called to testify in the case.

The day he went to an LDS temple with his family to be bound for eternity, he was having an affair.

And when he stood before his church’s congregation and told them he was dying, investigators say, he was actually plotting to kill his wife.

"He lived a life of deception," his daughter Alexis Somers said outside a Provo courtroom last week. "... It’s been a web of lies."

‘Emotional roller coaster’ » Martin Joseph MacNeill’s arrest Aug. 24 in the murder of his wife, Michele MacNeill, was the culmination of more than four years of work by investigators and prosecutors.

"There wasn’t any one [single] piece of evidence that caused us to decide to charge the case," said Utah County prosecutor Chad Grunander, who has been assigned to the case for more than two years. "We have not been cavalier whatsoever in our approach to this case. It’s been a very complex investigation that’s taken officers from California to Texas to Florida and even New Jersey to find witnesses and information. And, quite frankly, in a case like this, the investigation continues."

"It’s been an emotional roller coaster," said Michele MacNeill’s sister, Linda Cluff, who hounded police and prosecutors for years to stay on the case. "We were just wondering whether it would even happen."

In a 57-page affidavit for an arrest warrant filed in 4th District Court, Chief Utah County investigator Jeff Robinson lays out the case against the 56-year-old MacNeill, painting a picture of a life of lies and a man looking to end his marriage without the burdens of divorce.

Investigators believe MacNeill began plotting Michele MacNeill’s murder months before she died April 11, 2007.

In late 2006, MacNeill began telling friends and family members he had cancer and started rearranging his finances, ostensibly in anticipation of his death.

"Investigators believe this was part of Martin’s plan to deflect attention away from him and to later remove himself from the events that would unfold" on the day of his wife’s death, court documents state.

MacNeill began receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix but for a hereditary disease that caused pain in his foot — not cancer or multiple sclerosis as he had told others, investigators said.

On Feb. 21, 2007, the MacNeills’ wedding anniversary, Martin MacNeill drove to Henderson, Nev., where Somers lived while she attended medical school. He claimed he was on his way to the Mayo Clinic, but Somers found luggage in MacNeill’s car that appeared to belong to a woman. She called her mother and told her about it.

After that, Michele MacNeill suspected her husband was having an affair. She, along with her daughters, secretly checked his phone records and found a recurring number. Michele MacNeill called her husband, who returned to Henderson and yelled at his daughter.

Later, a woman named Gypsy Willis would admit to investigators she met MacNeill in Arizona at that time.

In February 2007, Willis moved into a home Martin MacNeill was renting in Lehi, apparently to be closer to him. MacNeill asked neighbors if they would like her to house-sit for them while they were gone.

After Michele MacNeill’s death, MacNeill named Willis as his beneficiary.

She attended Michele MacNeill’s funeral, and Martin MacNeill tried to convince his biological children that the family should hire Willis as a nanny for the four younger children Martin and Michele MacNeill had adopted.

As the two spent time recently in separate prisons in Texas for stealing the identity of one of MacNeill’s adopted daughters, they wrote to each other through a third-party, according to court documents. They talked about their love for each other and made plans to live together after they were released, according to investigators.

A mother’s suspicions » Investigators believe MacNeill wanted to kill his wife to be with Willis, and that in March 2007 he created an opportunity: He suggested his wife get "facial reconstruction" surgery.
MacNeill found a surgeon in Davis County and arranged a meeting. Later MacNeill called the doctor and told him which medications he wanted for his wife, according to court documents.

The doctor said "he would not have prescribed that combination of drugs" if Martin, who at the time was the clinical director of the Utah State Developmental Center, a residential facility in American Fork for people with disabilities, "had not been a physician and agreed to monitor the administration of the drugs," court documents state.

Michele MacNeill was prescribed Lortab, Ambien, Valium, Phenergan and Percocet.

During a checkup with another doctor in late March 2007, Michele MacNeill reportedly expressed reservations about going forward with the surgery, while her husband "insisted the operation move ahead as scheduled."

On April 3, 2007, Michele MacNeill had surgery and was kept overnight at the hospital, which "upset" her husband, court documents state. When she returned to the family home the next day, Martin MacNeill told his daughters he would care for her.

On the morning of April 5, Michele MacNeill was "listless and unresponsive," when Somers found her about 6 a.m., according to court documents.

Martin MacNeill said he thought he might have "over-medicated her," and father and daughter argued.

"When she woke up, she told me that my dad kept giving her medication," Somers told investigators. "She said that she did not know what he was giving her, but he kept telling her to swallow."

Somers said her mother told her: "If anything happens to me, make sure it wasn’t your dad."

For the next few days, Somers stayed at her mother’s side as her health improved after the surgery. On April 10, with Michele MacNeill able to walk on her own and drive, her daughter returned to school in Nevada.

The next morning, Martin MacNeill took the children to school. He went to work, where he made calls from his work phone to his daughter and his wife.

"Michele, don’t you dare, don’t you go anywhere," Martin MacNeill’s message said, according to court documents. "Don’t you go anywhere. Take it easy. Please, I’m very concerned. ... You just stay where you’re at. I’m coming home. I’m going to make you a sandwich and we’ll have a lovely lunch together, but just don’t call anybody and don’t go anywhere."

Investigators said they believe the calls from the work phone, and later a picture MacNeill asked to have taken of him at a work safety fair, were pretext, an attempt to build an alibi.

In any case, MacNeill was never more than a five-minute drive from the home, officials said.

Martin MacNeill picked up his 6-year-old daughter from the American Heritage School around 11:35 a.m. April 11 and drove home. The child ran upstairs and found her mother in the bathtub partially filled with reddish-brown water.

MacNeill called 911 but screamed too loudly for the dispatcher to initially make sense of the call. Later, he gave a wrong address that slowed the response. Neighbors heard Martin MacNeill screaming for help. When a woman who lived next door entered the house, he said he needed a "man’s help" to pull his wife from the tub and made her run next door to get her husband.

"Whatever ailments Martin claimed to suffer from at the time of his wife’s death appear to have been contrived," investigators wrote. "He used this weakness as an excuse to explain why he could not pull his wife out of the bathtub."

"The second I called home, and he said my mother was in the bathtub, I knew he killed her," Somers said.

Doug Daniels, a neighbor, told investigators that when MacNeill tried CPR, he never saw the woman’s chest rise.

There were differences in Martin MacNeill’s account and his young daughter’s. Child and father differed on how the woman’s body was positioned when she was found, and whether she was wearing pants.

How did she die? » MacNeill’s attorney, Randall Spencer, describes his client as an "odd man."

Investigators say MacNeill has admitted to hearing voices directing him to kill and, according to court documents, has said he has killed family members and patients, though no evidence of such crimes exists. MacNeill has admitted to stealing his adopted daughter’s identity and to falsifying undergraduate transcripts to get into medical school and law school.

But Martin MacNeill did not kill his wife, Spencer said.

"People may find it hard to imagine, but he truly loved his wife," the defense attorney said. "She was a big support and stabilizing factor in his life."

"Mr. MacNeill adamantly denies that he had anything to do with the death of his wife," Spencer said. "It’s regrettable that the county and so many others have seemingly determined that because Mr. MacNeill has done many bad things in his life he must also be a murderer."

The state medical examiner has never ruled Michele MacNeill’s death a homicide.

After an autopsy in 2007, a medical examiner ruled the manner of death was "natural," the result of "chronic hypertension and myocarditis, which are capable of causing acute unexpected arrhythmia and sudden death." But investigators say Martin MacNeill called the medical examiner multiple times and gave misleading information. In 2010, with a new investigative report, Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey changed the cause of death to the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity. The manner of death was changed to "undetermined."

In recent years, other experts reviewed the case anew. A University of Utah professor of pharmacology and toxicology said he believed Michele MacNeill had taken a potentially lethal dose of medication. A medical examiner in Florida determined the immediate cause of death was drowning and that, contrary to the Utah medical examiner’s findings, there was no evidence of acute or active myocarditis.

"The investigation shows Martin MacNeill led a life filled with contradictions, deception and manipulation," Robinson, the investigator, wrote in his affidavit for an arrest warrant. "I believe it was his intention to rid himself of his family and wife."

He added, "Martin’s attitude and actions show he wanted to be with Gypsy, and Michele was keeping him from his new life. The consequences of divorce, including paying for two homes, spousal support and dealing with the social fallout, were not a viable option."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54788181-78/macneill-martin-michele-wife.html.csp?page=4

This guy sure is a piece of work. Thank God his daughters recognized him for what he was and kept on LE to look at the case again. What brave people they are. This will be an interesting trial for sure. I feel so damn bad for the kids and her family!

By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Sep 21 2012 01:01 am • Last Updated Sep 21 2012 09:24 am

Martin MacNeill, the Pleasant Grove doctor accused of murdering his wife, can be tried on unrelated charges of sexual abuse stemming from a case that was initially dismissed in 2008, Utah Court Appeals ruled Thursday.

Utah County prosecutors filed felony charges of forcible sexual abuse and witness tampering against MacNeill in October 2007, after an adult female relative told Pleasant Grove he put his hand down her pants and asked her to sign a statement saying he did not touch her.

A 4th District Court judge dismissed the case six months later, finding prosecutors did not have a good faith basis to proceed. But the judge did not specify whether dismissal was with or without prejudice, meaning the judge did not say whether prosecutors could re-file the charges at a later date.

Utah County did re-file the sex case in January 2009, which prompted an appeal from MacNeill’s attorneys, who argued it could not be refiled because the judge had not specified if it the dismissal was with or without prejudice.

On Thursday, the Utah Court of Appeals sided with prosecutors by ruling that it cannot be assumed that any time a case is dismissed that it is with prejudice.

Meanwhile, MacNeill, 56, was charged Aug. 28 with first-degree felony murder and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, in the April 11, 2007, death of his wife.

He is accused in court papers of giving Michele MacNeill a deadly mixture of prescription drugs after she came home to recover from cosmetic surgery in April 2007. Martin MacNeill picked up one of his daughters from school on April 11. When they got home, the daughter found her mother in a bathtub that was a quarter full of reddish-brown water, the charges state.

MacNeill called 911. But he lied to the dispatcher about performing resuscitation and lied to police about events surrounding her death in an effort to hinder, delay or prevent any investigation, according to the charges.

MacNeill was having an affair at the time of his wife’s death, according to court documents, and devised a plan to kill his wife in order to continue with his affair. A preliminary hearing is set for next month in the murder case.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54936146-78/macneill-case-charges-court.html.csp

Posted on: 12:52 pm, October 3, 2012, by Meredith Forrest Kulwicki, updated on: 05:19pm, October 3, 2012

PROVO, Utah – A prominent Utah doctor charged with his wife’s murder was back in court Wednesday.
Dr. Martin MacNeill is accused in an elaborate murder plot to kill his wife Michelle in 2007, but he has not been charged until recently.

Wednesday was the first day of his preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors believe MacNeill gave his wife a lethal dose of pain killers while she was home recovering from plastic surgery back in April 2007.

The state called two witnesses during the morning session.

“We’re just going to run through each of the witnesses that we think are necessary to establish probable cause from a chronological stand point, an evidentiary stand point, and then we will probably conclude with more of our expert doctor type analysis,” said Sam Pead, Utah County deputy attorney.

The first was a doctor who treated Michelle before her surgery. He said he wanted her to postpone the surgery until she could get her blood pressure under control. The doctor said MacNeill was anxious that she get the surgery.

A second doctor, who performed the plastic surgery, testified that before the surgery, MacNeill asked for a strong pain medication as he was concerned about Michelle’s anxiety. The doctor said he did write a prescription for the higher dose.

After the surgery, the doctor said Michelle was recovering well and was being weaned off of the pain medications.

“They’ve only had two witnesses on, so it’s really just basically their observations,” said Susanne Gustin, MacNeill’s attorney.

MacNeill’s daughter, who was 6 when she found her mother unconscious in the bath tub, is expected to take the witness stand.

http://fox13now.com/2012/10/03/preliminary-hearing-starts-for-man-accused-of-killing-his-wife/

That poor kid!!!!

Witnesses describe moments surrounding suspected murder

October 04, 2012 12:25 am • Jim Dalrymple - Daily Herald

PROVO -- Midway through the first afternoon of Martin MacNeill's preliminary hearing for murder Wednesday, prosecutors played a recording of the 911 call he made on April 11, 2007. MacNeill can be heard screaming almost unintelligibly that his wife had "fallen in the bathtub," was underwater and "was not breathing at all."

In the recording, MacNeill provides his address to the dispatcher -- though prosecutors say the address he gave was incorrect -- then hangs up.

The recording continued, however, and moments later began playing back a second call MacNeill made to 911 dispatchers. In several screamed responses MacNeill tells the dispatcher that he needed help and was a doctor.

"Do you know how to do CPR?" the dispatcher asks in the recording.

"I'm doing it," MacNeill screams. Then the line goes dead.

The recording depicted the moments immediately after MacNeill's wife, Michele, was found unconscious in a bathtub. Michele never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead that day. Prosecutors believe MacNeill staged the death and have charged him with murder, a first-degree felony.

Prosecutors began by calling Dr. Von Welch to the witness stand. Among other things, Welch -- who said he had a professional relationship with MacNeill -- recalled performing a pre-operative examination on Michele shortly before she was scheduled to have plastic surgery. During the examination, Welch discovered that Michele had high blood pressure.

"I felt it should be postponed because it was an elective surgery," Welch said, referring to Michele's plastic surgery.

Welch also testified that Michele was difficult to engage with and seemingly not at liberty to speak frankly with him. She deferred to MacNeill when asked questions, Welch added, so he asked MacNeill to step out of the room.

"She seemed very sad and stressed and she couldn't really explain why," Welch testified.

By contrast MacNeill came off as anxious and in a hurry to proceed.

"There seemed to be an urgency to get the exam done," Welch added.

Welch said he was surprised Michele went forward with her plastic surgery despite his recommendation. He also was "shocked" when he heard she had died shortly after the surgery.

Prosecutors believe MacNeill pushed his wife to get the surgery, then overmedicated her during the following week. He eventually killed Michele, prosecutors have said, and sent his young daughter Ada to find her in a bathtub. Among other things, prosecutors believe MacNeill's affair with a woman named Gypsy Willis provided him with a motive to commit murder.

Ada also testified Wednesday. Only 6 years old at the time of her mother's death, Ada recalled going to the bathroom to find her mother in the bathtub. Ada ran to get MacNeill.

"I kind of pulled him along to the bathroom," she testified.

Ada said MacNeill ordered her to call 911 and sent her to get a neighbor.

Dr. Scott Thompson, who performed Michele's plastic surgery, also testified. MacNeill found Thompson through a newspaper ad and during an initial meeting on March 22, 2007, the two men and Michele discussed possibly procedures for Michele's face.

"They seemed very happy together," Thompson said. "Martin definitely had the stronger personality, the more dominant personality."

According to Thompson, the MacNeills chose on the spot to pursue all of the operations they discussed, which was atypical but not unheard of. On April 3, Thompson performed three facial surgeries on Michele.

"Everything went very well," Thompson testified. "There were no complications."

However, Thompson said he prescribed unusual medications for Michele at MacNeill's request. Thompson explained that "from the beginning" MacNeill had described Michele as being highly sensitive to pain and requested prescriptions for Percocet and Valium, in addition to the usual Ambien, Lortab and Phenergan. Thompson noted that he ordinarily doesn't prescribe Percocet but consented because MacNeill was a doctor himself.

In the days following Michele's surgery she made a normal recovery, Thompson went on to say. She was walking during follow-up visits and was gradually being weaned off her medications. By one week after the surgery, she was down to one or two Percocet a day, which Thompson said was fine.

Still, on April 11 MacNeill called Thompson saying Michele had been found unresponsive. Thompson described MacNeill as "really upset and frantic." Thompson himself was "devastated" because Michele's recovery had been going so well, he said.

During cross examination, defense attorney Randall Spencer quizzed Thompson about the combination of drugs he administered. Spencer also asked if he would perform plastic surgery on a woman who was being pressured into the procedure by her husband. Thompson replied that he would not and explained that Michele seemed to be in favor of the surgery and even appeared to have support from Michele's daughter, Alexis.

Other witnesses Wednesday included MacNeill's neighbors Kristi Daniels and Angie Aguilar. Daniels was the neighbor Ada contacted, and she immediately rushed outside. By the time she reached the driveway she could hear MacNeill screaming.

"Help, I need some help," Daniels recalled hearing.

When Daniels arrived, Michele was still in the bathtub. Daniels said she saw mucus coming out of Michele's nose and said she was pale, even "greenish." Another person helped MacNeill lift Michele out of the bathtub, and Daniels began CPR compressions. Daniels said MacNeill assumed a position to give breaths to Michele, though she didn't know if MacNeill actually breathed into Michele's mouth.

Daniels provided a description of MacNeill that contrasted with how he sounded in his 911 calls. Daniels said while she was at the home MacNeill seemed calm and in control.

"He wasn't freaking out to me," she testified.

Aguilar, the last witness of the day, recalled how MacNeill taught Sunday school at his local LDS ward and was a "wonderful" teacher. Aguilar was at Daniels's home when Ada showed up seeking help. Soon, Aguilar said, she went over to MacNeill's home herself. She testified that a "pinkish yellow liquid had come out of her nose" and that she was "pretty gray."

MacNeill's hearing is scheduled to conclude next week.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/witnesses-describe-moments-surrounding-suspected-murder/article_a0ebcb2d-2d77-5cef-aa96-8cca6b399325.html?comment_form=true

October 05, 2012 6:01 pm • Jim Dalrymple - Daily Herald

Accused killer's former lover testifies in murder hearing

Anna Walthall was going through a messy divorce in 2005 when she turned for support to the doctor working at her laser hair removal company.

Witnesses describe moments surrounding suspected murder

Midway through the first afternoon of Martin MacNeill's preliminary hearing for murder Wednesday, prosecutors played a recording of the 911 call he made on April 11, 2007.

PROVO -- Less than two weeks after Alexis Somers’s mother, Michele, died in April 2007, her father, Martin MacNeill, called and said he had found the perfect nanny. Somers asked about the potential nanny’s name, and after hemming and hawing MacNeill told her it was Gypsy Jillian Willis. Somers immediately recognized the woman as her father’s alleged mistress.

“He was irate,” Somers testified Friday about her father’s reaction to being confronted. “He started screaming at me. He said, ‘how dare you, your mother was crazy.’ And then he hung up.”

Somers’s testimony was part of a hearing for MacNeill, whom prosecutors have charged with murder for allegedly killing Michele. MacNeill’s alleged affair with Willis is cited in court documents as one of the motives for the killing.

Somers — who worked for years to have Michele’s death investigated — began her testimony by saying that she and her mother were best friends. Though Somers was in medical school in Las Vegas in 2007, they corresponded “five to 10 times a day.”

But despite the frequent conversations, Somers said she was completely surprised when her mother called to say she was planning to get a facelift.

“It was very much out of the blue,” Somers testified.

Somers reportedly suggested to her parents that they postpone the surgery for six weeks until she finished her semester and could come home and help out, but her father insisted on going forward. Later, Somers said, Michele also suggested waiting to have the surgery, citing a recent diagnosis of hypertension.

“He was very upset,” Somers said of MacNeill. “I was startled by his response.”

Somers testified that she ultimately came to Utah in the days before Michele had the surgery. She went with both of her parents to a pre-operation exam, she said, and among other things remembers watching her father telling the plastic surgeon which medications to prescribe. Somers said she was embarrassed that MacNeill was telling the doctor what to prescribe.

Michele went forward with the surgery on April 3, 2007. Somers was still in Utah, she explained, and in the following days everything went smoothly.

“She did fine,” Somers testified. “Her pain appeared to be controlled.”

But despite the steady recovery, Somers recalled finding Michele “completely out of it” on April 5. According to Somers, MacNeill had overmedicated Michele until she was completely sedated. Somers confronted her father, she recalled, who admitted that he may have given Michele too much medication.

However, Somers said she insisted on administering Michele’s medication after that incident. She also was in the home until the early evening, when Michele regained consciousness and expressed fear.

“She said, ‘Alexis, I don’t know why but your dad just kept giving me pills, he just kept giving me medication,’” Somers testified.

Somers remained in Utah until April 10, then went back to Las Vegas. At the time, Michele was up and resuming her routines, Somers said, and on the morning of April 11 they talked via phone. Somers said her mother seemed to be fine during the conversation and even mentioned that MacNeill was being especially nice to her.

Just hours later, however, MacNeill left Somers a “strange” message claiming that Michele wasn’t cooperating.

“My father sounded frantic,” Somers said. “He said to call my mother.”

Somers called, but no one answered. She testified that later that day MacNeill called her again, this time saying that “mom wasn’t breathing.” Somers immediately flew back to Utah.

According to Somers, when she returned to her parents’ home later that same day, all of Michele’s medications were gone, as was the log Somers had made of Michele’s care. The hospital bed had been removed. Even the stuffed animals that had been in the room were missing.

After returning to Utah, Somers asked MacNeill to describe how he found Michele. MacNeill reportedly said he found Michele “slumped over the tub with her feet sticking out.” MacNeill also suggested that Michele may have fallen and hit her head, Somers said.

However, what MacNeill allegedly told Somers differs notably from the account given by MacNeill’s daughter Ada, as well as neighbor Kristi Daniels, both of whom testified earlier in the week that they saw Michele lying entirely in the bathtub.

Following Michele’s death, MacNeill rushed to have a funeral in three days, Somers said. He banned Michele’s family and threatened to have bouncers throw them out. Then later, he brought Willis into the home as a nanny, Somers testified.

Somers went on to explain that Michele had suspected MacNeill of having an affair with Willis. Court documents also state that Somers and Michele had previously checked MacNeill’s phone records and found calls and text messages to Willis.

Somers’s opposition to Willis led MacNeill to kick her out of the home. Somers testified that MacNeill called police and said she was trespassing. Somers didn’t even have time to get her car keys or shoes before being thrown out.

Later, Somers added, MacNeill told her he planned to marry Willis.

“He said, ‘we’re going to get married in the temple,’” Somers testified.

Somers also testified that in the months following Michele’s death MacNeill sent his adult children a text message saying he was giving the children remaining at home to a family in California.

Other witnesses Friday included Aileen Heng, who was dating MacNeill’s son, Damien, at the time of Michele’s death. Heng said MacNeill told her to dispose of the medications in the house just hours after Michele died.

Most of Friday afternoon was occupied by the sometimes-contentious testimony of Dr. Douglas Rollins. Though Rollins composed a postmortem toxicology report on Michele’s blood, defense attorney Randall Spencer argued strenuously that Rollins’s methodology was “grossly inadequate.” Drawing extensively from medical research, Spencer questioned Rollins about the concept of postmortem redistribution, which has to do with the amount of chemicals in blood following death. Spencer criticized Rollins for treating a postmortem toxicology report exactly like a pre-mortem report and asked the judge to bar his testimony.

Rollins said he had considered postmortem redistribution and the judge ultimately allowed him to continue. Responding to prosecutors’ questions he said that the combination of drugs found in Michele’s blood — which included oxycodone, Valium, Ambien and Phenegran — could have sedated a person, impaired breathing and would have had an “additive effect.”

MacNeill also faces one count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. His hearing is scheduled to go until next week.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/daughter-testifies-in-doctor-s-murder-hearing/article_10e68e2a-0f12-11e2-a29e-0019bb2963f4.html

Martin MacNeill • Doctor accused of murdering his wife.

BY JESSICA MILLER
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Oct 04 2012 01:35PM
Updated Oct 5, 2012 11:07AM

Provo >> During "pillow talk" with Martin MacNeill, Anna Osborne Walthall said her lover on several occasions admitted to having homicidal urges throughout his life.

Walthall testified in 4th District Court Thursday that early in their affair in 2005, MacNeill — who was recently charged with killing his wife, Michele MacNeill — revealed he had tried to kill his mother when he was 8 years old.

MacNeill’s mother had been drunk, he allegedly told her, and passed out on a couch.

"He said that he got a beer and went and got all the medications in the house and fed them into this beer," she testified. "He helped her sit up and drink it, and watched her stop breathing."

MacNeill’s sister eventually came into the house, sought medical help and revived their mother.

Walthall said she asked him later if he ever regretted the incident.

"He said he regretted that there wasn’t more medication in the house," she testified.

In later years, though Walthall could not recall if he ever told her when specifically, she testified that he told her he killed his brother. MacNeill allegedly said his brother wasn’t suicidal, but often cut his wrists for attention. Once, while MacNeill was visiting in New Jersey, his brother called him and told him that he had hurt himself, so MacNeill went to his mother’s home, into the bathroom, and found his brother with his wrists cut, lying in a bathtub.

MacNeill held him underwater until he drowned, she said.

Walthall said she once asked him if he was ever worried that he would get caught.

"He said that it was not unusual for a cutter to drown because they lose enough blood that they don’t have the strength to stay above water," she said.

MacNeill, a 56-year-old Pleasant Grove doctor, is accused of killing his wife on April 11, 2007, in order to free himself to continue an affair with another woman named Gypsy Willis.

MacNeill allegedly gave 50-year-old Michele MacNeill a deadly mixture of prescription drugs after she came home to recover from cosmetic surgery in April 2007.

Walthall was one of seven witnesses who testified Thursday, the second day of MacNeill’s multi-day preliminary hearing. After the hearing ends next week, Judge Samuel McVey will decide if there is enough evidence to order MacNeill to stand trial on charges of first-degree felony murder and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

From the beginning of Walthall’s testimony, MacNeill’s defense attorneys, Randy Spencer and Susanne Gustin, objected to much of what the woman revealed. Walthall is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, which Gustin said she felt affected the woman’s ability to discern fact from fantasy.

But Utah County prosecutor Chad Grunander said that although Walthall is mentally ill, she is high-functioning and has the ability to decipher truth from a lie, and has a clear memory.

"Despite her mental illness, she has been very candid and open," he said outside court.

Earlier Thursday, MacNeill’s neighbor, Doug Daniels, testified helping to remove a lifeless Michele MacNeill from bathtub where she was found and assisting in CPR efforts.

"[MacNeill’s] demeanor, it would change, which we thought was a little bit different," Daniels testified. "He was very analytical sometimes, telling us what to do, and then would tell us to stop … and then he would have a bit of an outburst over the situation, I guess. He would kind of stop everything, and he would say, ‘Why? Over a stupid surgery!’ and then continue."

At that time, Daniels had been giving the woman chest compressions while MacNeill gave him instructions and conducted mouth-to-mouth with his wife. But Daniels said Thursday that he never saw the woman’s chest rise or fall, a standard of proper CPR.

When asked by Spencer whether he may not have remembered if her chest rose and fell, Daniels said he was sure of it.

"It’s not a matter of recalling," Daniels said. "I didn’t see her chest rise."

Two Pleasant Grove police officers who responded to Martin MacNeill’s 911 call, were struck by the man’s anger, according to testimony.

"He was very angry," Ray Ormond, one of the officers, recalled Thursday on the witness stand. "He was very angry with us. … It was uncomfortable, honestly, to have him coming back and forward into the room yelling at us."

Ormond said the officers eventually moved Michele MacNeill from the bathroom into a bedroom and continued CPR. The woman, who was abnormally cold to the touch, began regaining a bit of color as the CPR efforts starting circulating her blood once again. Eventually, she coughed up what Ormond thought was three to four cups of water, but she could never be revived.

Dr. Scott VanWagoner, an emergency physician at American Fork Hospital, where Michele MacNeill’s body was taken, also testified Thursday that MacNeill’s behavior was extremely odd.

"One of the oddest comments, to the point of being bizarre, is he offered me $10,000 to stop my resuscitation efforts," he said.

The state medical examiner has never ruled Michele MacNeill’s death a homicide. After an autopsy in 2007, her manner of death was ruled "natural," the result of "chronic hypertension and myocarditis, which are capable of causing acute unexpected arrhythmia and sudden death."

But investigators say Martin called the medical examiner multiple times and gave misleading information. In 2010, in a new investigative report, Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey changed the cause of death to the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity. The manner of death was changed to "undetermined."

In recent years, other experts have also reviewed the case. A University of Utah professor of pharmacology and toxicology said he believed Michele MacNeill had taken a potentially lethal dose of medication. A medical examiner in Florida determined the immediate cause of death was drowning and that, contrary to the Utah medical examiner’s findings, there was no evidence of acute or active myocarditis.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile/55025989-68/macneill-walthall-testified-michele.html.csp

It boggles my mind this lunatic was not arrested from the beginning. I don't understand after reading the above cop and emergency physician's statements. Was it because he is/was a doctor?

PROVO — A pharmacology/toxicology expert testified Tuesday that there was little chance that Michele MacNeill would have been alert with the dangerous quadruple combination of prescription medications found in her system at the time of her death.

"You have a tank that's nearly 3/4 full, 7/8 full, and you drop (Zolpidem) in, it's very surprising anyone could maintain a level of alertness with that in their system," Dr. Gary Dawson said Tuesday. "That would be the fourth piece that dropped in on the top brick."

But what may have been most surprising, he said, was that she had such a high level of the potent sleeping drug, typically sold under the brand name Ambien, in her system at midday.

That level would suggest there was still a substantial amount of drug present, more so than one would expect.
"That level would suggest there was still a substantial amount of drug present, more so than one would expect," Dawson said.

If MacNeill had taken the sleeping agent the night before at the customary bed time, there shouldn't have been any left in her system by the time her body was found, he said. A more likely scenario was the drug was administered within two hours of when she was found.

Dawson's testimony was among several medical experts and co-workers who took the witness stand Tuesday, the fourth day of the preliminary hearing for a Pleasant Grove doctor accused of giving his wife a dangerous cocktail of prescription medications.

Martin MacNeill, 56, is charged with murder and obstructing justice in 4th District Court in connection with the April 2007 death of his wife, 50-year-old Michele MacNeill. Her body was found in a bathtub.

The hearing is scheduled to last through Wednesday, but the judge has indicated that he will add another day if necessary. Judge Samuel McVey will then determine if there is enough evidence to order MacNeill to stand trial. Many people have testified against MacNeill during the first three days of his preliminary hearing, including a daughter. But the evidence has been circumstantial.

On Oct. 3, Dr. Scott Thompson testified that Martin MacNeill seemed like a "protective" husband who described his wife as an anxious person with a low pain tolerance, prompting him to request stronger medications than Thompson normally prescribed.
Dawson, who has 35 years of pharmacology experience, said the drugs found during the post-mortem toxicology analysis of Michele MacNeill showed there were four powerful prescription medications in her system — Valium, oxycodone, Phenergan and Ambien.

"You can't single out one drug and say that's probable or possible. It's the combination," Dawson said.

He noted that Michele was "drug naive," or had no extensive prior exposure to these narcotics, so they would likely have a greater effect on her than others who regularly used the drugs.

The defense team of Susanne Gustin and Randy Spencer, however, tried to raise doubt during cross-examination, noting that the actual levels of each individual drug found in Michele MacNeill's system would not likely have caused her death. They also brought up other conditions that may have played a contributing role.

Co-worker describes MacNeill's "odd" behavior

Steven Mickelson, currently the director of nursing for the Utah County Health Department, worked with Martin MacNeill for about seven years when Mickelson was a nurse practitioner. MacNeill was his superior.

On the day Michele MacNeill's body was found in a tub, he said he received a call that something was wrong at the MacNeill house and he needed to go there immediately.

Mickelson arrived and found numerous emergency vehicles out front. He also found Martin MacNeill.

"He pointed inside and said, 'Go in and help,'' he said.

He saw Michele MacNeill lying on the bedroom floor. Several EMTs were performing CPR. Mickelson said he also noticed a gash over one of Michele's eyes.

Steven Mickelson described Martin MacNeil's demeanor as, "A little bit distraught, quite animated." What he thought was odd, was that the bathtub where he had allegedly found his wife "face down the wrong way," was already drained.
He described Martin's demeanor as, "A little bit distraught, quite animated." What he thought was odd, was that the bathtub where he had allegedly found his wife "face down the wrong way," was already drained.

"I'm not sure why it was empty, it just seemed a little odd," Mickelson said, noting that he would have thought performing CPR would be a higher priority than draining the tub.

When Mickelson asked MacNeill a couple of days later what had happened, he told him, "Maybe she had fallen into the tub, hit her head and drowned, or something around those lines."

Mickelson said he also noticed that when MacNeill returned to work after his wife's death, he was wearing a different ring where he used to wear his wedding band. The new ring, which looked like a type of wedding band, was black, he said. MacNeill's normal wedding band was gold.

On Wednesday, Gypsy Gillian Willis, 35, is expected to take the witness stand. Prosecutors say MacNeill was having an affair with Willis in the weeks leading up to his wife's death. After the death, Martin MacNeill announced that Willis was going to become the new nanny for his children. He later announced their plans to marry, according to his daughter Alexis Somers.

Willis was convicted last year of identity fraud after she and MacNeill tried to steal the identity of MacNeill's 16-year-old daughter.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=22483765&nid=148

This case is cut and dry. Husband is a doctor. Husband giving wife meds he knows will do her in. Husband having an affair. Done deal IMHO.

By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Oct 10 2012 01:14 Pm • Last Updated Oct 11 2012 11:15 Am

Provo • Gypsy Jyll Willis said she never intended to start a serious relationship with Martin MacNeill.

But that all changed after MacNeill’s wife was found dead in a bathtub at her Pleasant Grove home on April 11, 2007.

Willis said her sexual relationship with MacNeill began in November 2005, while MacNeill was still married.

"It was just for fun, just exciting," she testified in 4th District Court on Wednesday. "Just for on the side."

But she said "circumstances changed completely" after Michele MacNeill’s death.

MacNeill needed support, she said, so he decided to bring her into the family — but he staged a meeting, pretending like she was only an acquaintance and brought her into his family’s home as a nanny.

"What Martin told me was that he had felt very sorry that we were involved prior to his wife’s death," she testified. "He needed help, he needed assistance. He was embarrassed about our relationship, but thought that I could come and act as help. But he wanted to have me meet his family with the best foot forward."

Martin’s adult daughter, Rachel MacNeill, testified Wednesday that the first time she met Willis, it was a few days after her mother’s death, and she was sitting outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temple in American Fork with her father.

They were on a bench, talking about their prayers concerning hiring a nanny to care for the four younger children, Rachel MacNeill said, when a woman interrupted them, saying that Martin MacNeill looked familiar.

"I’m so sorry for your loss and the grief you’ve been through," Rachel MacNeill said the woman told her. "My name is Jillian."

The woman named Jillian — who Rachel MacNeill said she later came to find out was Willis — talked to her about nursing school, and said she had pamphlets in her car about the program she was in.

"I just said, ‘You know, I’m just trying to breathe right now.’ " Rachel MacNeill testified. "I was just not in the mood to chat with her about nursing school. I wasn’t interested in being a nurse."

Willis, 36, testified that the meeting was MacNeill’s idea — a ruse to meet with the MacNeill children without the pretext of being their father’s mistress.

"There was not a script," she said. "It was more that he thought the place was a nice place and he thought it would be a calming environment."

Within weeks, Willis had moved into the MacNeill’s home, hired as the "nanny." Willis insisted she cared for the children, but Rachel MacNeill said she was unlike any nanny she’d ever seen.

"I expected to see what I’ve seen before, that their main focus was the children," she testified. "That they were there to work. That was their job — making sure the children were taken care of, doing things with them. Not just sitting and staring at my dad."

MacNeill, a 56-year-old doctor, is accused of killing his wife in April 2007, in order to free himself to continue his affair with Willis.

MacNeill allegedly gave 50-year-old Michele MacNeill a deadly mixture of prescription drugs after she came home to recover from cosmetic surgery in April 2007.

Wednesday marked the fifth day of MacNeill’s preliminary hearing for MacNeill.

On Thursday, Judge Samuel McVey will determine if there is enough evidence to order MacNeill to stand trial on charges of first-degree felony murder and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

MacNeill remained emotionless and tight-lipped while his oldest daughter testified against him, as he had with every other witness.

But when Willis — who testified as part of a plea deal from an earlier identity fraud conviction — took the stand, he cracked small smiles when the two would lock eyes occasionally during her testimony.

Though Willis described MacNeill as "wonderful" and thought he was "many things that would make a wonderful companion," she said she never expected a relationship from him, and they never talked about him getting a divorce or cutting Michele MacNeill out of the picture.

But old roommates of Willis countered her testimony, saying that she had a photo of Michele MacNeill in her bedroom, and had once talked of cutting the woman’s brake lines to get rid of her.

"I was scared to death of Gypsy when I moved out," Michele Savage testified. "I’m still scared of her."

But Willis testified that she never talked about cutting brake lines, and that she had lived with Savage and her daughter before she ever dated MacNeill.

Savage and her daughter, Brandy Smith, testified that Willis had spoken about a man she dated named "Neil," who was married, and was a doctor and lawyer. Smith said she was certain she saw MacNeill come to the house once, before Willis gave her $200 and told her to take another roommate and her son and go find something to do for a few hours.

Despite the testimonies about the affair and MacNeill’s behavior in the days before and after his wife’s death, MacNeill’s defense team, Susanne Gustin and Randy Spencer, said the case will likely come down to scientific evidence.

"If you can go past the sensational nature of this case, it’s going to come down to cause-of-death," Gustin said.

How Michele MacNeill died seems to be somewhat of a mystery, even to medical examiners. The Utah medical examiner’s office has never ruled Michele MacNeill’s death a homicide.

After an autopsy in 2007, assistant medical examiner Maureen Frikke — who died in 2008 — ruled the manner of Michele MacNeill’s death was "natural," the result of "chronic hypertension and myocarditis, which are capable of causing acute unexpected arrhythmia and sudden death."

But investigators say MacNeill called Frikke multiple times, giving misleading information that included how her body was found.

In 2010, in a new investigative report, Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey changed the cause of death to the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity. The manner of death was changed to "undetermined."

Grey said there was some evidence that Michele MacNeill may have drowned, pointing to prior testimony from medical responders who said that while undergoing CPR, the woman coughed up several cups of water, some of it pink and frothy.

That may be consistent with water and air found in the lungs, Grey testified Tuesday, but said he did not see the microscopic findings in the lungs that indicates a drowning occurred.

"I didn’t find enough physical evidence compelling enough to say, ‘Yes, I know this was a drowning,’ " he testified.

However, Dr. Joshua Perper, a medical examiner from Florida asked by prosecutors to review the case, said he disagreed with both of the Utah medical examiners, and said he thought Michele MacNeill drowned. He said he believes the drugs found in her system or her pre-existing health conditions may have contributed to her death, but neither were the cause.

"In my opinion, those drugs may have contributed in some way to the death, making the person more prone to drowning, or more prone to a person drowning the [victim]," he testified on Wednesday.

Perper said that although he felt Michele MacNeill drowned, he still ruled the manner of death as "undetermined," because it could not be determined whether her death was accidental or homicidal.

The question of whether Michele MacNeill would have taken the mixture of drugs and committed suicide was also presented to Perper, but he disregarded the theory, saying that MacNeill’s adult daughter reporting her mother was fearful of her husband killing her would indicate that she was not showing suicidal tendencies.

"If you are contemplating suicide, and you wanted to kill yourself, you wouldn’t be fearful of someone killing you," he said. "… It may facilitate your wishes, it doesn’t threaten."

Willis has been prosecuted in both state and federal court for identity fraud. After pleading guilty, she spent 21 months in a federal prison, six months in the Utah County jail and is still on probation in the state case, according to court records.

Willis, with the help of MacNeill, obtained false military identifications and a Utah identification card. MacNeill also helped Willis open numerous bank accounts under a false name.

MacNeill, who also pleaded guilty in both state and federal court, was sentenced in 2009 to four years in a federal prison.

Meanwhile, Utah County prosecutors are currently prosecuting MacNeill on felony charges of forcible sexual abuse and witness tampering for allegedly putting his hand down the pants of an adult relative in 2007, and then asking her to sign a statement saying he did not touch her.

http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile2/55057159-218/macneill-death-willis-michele.html.csp

MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

PROVO -- After nearly two hours of argument Thursday morning, Judge Samuel McVey walked into a Provo courtroom and ordered Martin MacNeill to stand trial for murder.

MacNeill, who was shackled and sitting across the room in a jail jumpsuit, cocked his head slightly to the left but otherwise showed no emotion as the judge read the ruling.

The decision means a jury likely will hear the evidence that in August led prosecutors to charge MacNeill with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice. The charges stem from allegations that MacNeill killed his wife, Michele, in 2007 a week after pushing her to have plastic surgery.

After delivering his ruling Thursday, McVey provided a lengthy explanation of the case as it had been argued over nearly two weeks of testimony. Among other things, the explanation detailed how MacNeill, a doctor, was having an affair with Gypsy Willis at the time of Michele’s death. McVey went on to single out testimony by Willis and another of MacNeill’s former mistresses as being “inherently incredible.”

“It’s abundantly clear to the court that she was prevaricating or not remembering,” McVey said, referring to Willis’s statements about the casualness of her relationship with MacNeill.

Earlier Thursday morning, attorneys working the case provided additional details. First, prosecutor Chad Grunander said in addition to a motive, MacNeill had a medical background that gave him the knowledge he needed to pull off a killing.

“Martin, a doctor, would have known the risks associated with giving his wife all of those drugs,” Grunander said.

He was referring to a concoction of several drugs found in Michele’s blood after her death. Experts have disagreed about exactly what killed Michele, but several doctors previously testified that the drugs could have contributed to her death. The drugs were prescribed to Michele at MacNeill’s request by the doctor who performed her facelift a week before her death.

MacNeill was working as a medical director at the Utah State Developmental Center when Michele died.

Grunander also noted that the first time after MacNeill was left alone with Michele after her plastic surgery he overmedicated her to the point that she was completely sedated.

“Arguably almost dead, if you will, but she comes out of it and she’s OK,” Grunander added.

Michele threw up some of those drugs, Grunander went on to say, but after she died examiners found phenergan an in her blood. According to Grunander, the drug is an anti-nausea medication that could have prevented Michele from throwing up a second cocktail of drugs. After Michele was found, MacNeill also reportedly failed to provide life-saving resuscitation.

“There are a number of pieces of evidence to show that Martin staged the scene,” Grunander argued.

Later during his arguments, Grunander provided more information about MacNeill’s alleged motive. He said MacNeill was having an affair with Willis at the time, and shortly before Michele’s death had provided Willis with an apartment and a debit card. After the death, Willis began getting closer to the MacNeill family.

“The mistress was present at the funeral,” Grunander noted.

Just weeks later, MacNeill brought Willis into the home as a “nanny with benefits,” Grunander said. The MacNeill children were then gradually forced out of the home. Later, MacNeill and Willis applied for a marriage document — despite not being married — and listed Michele’s funeral date as their wedding date. Willis testified that MacNeill suggested the date.

Grunander ultimately asked McVey to send the case to trial. Acknowledging that much of the evidence was “circumstantial,” he argued that it was similar to “no body” cases in which prosecutors believe a murder occurred but don’t have a corpse to prove it. In MacNeill’s case, Michele’s body was recovered almost as soon as she died, but different experts have given different causes of death. Those causes have included drowning, heart disease and a combination of drugs and heart disease.

McVey pointed to the testimony of Dr. Joshua Perper, an expert from Florida who testified earlier in the week, as particularly illuminative. Perper testified that Michele likely died from drowning.

However, defense attorney Randy Spencer called the state’s characterization of the case baseless. Though the nature of the hearing meant nearly all of the evidence was presented by and favored prosecutors, Spencer said they had ultimately failed to prove MacNeill had committed any act that killed Michele.

“The state has not proved an act by the defendant,” he argued. “They speculate about an act and that is all we have here.”

Spencer called the state’s methods a violation of the scientific method because they began with a conclusion and worked backward from there. He also pointed out that there was a body that underwent extensive examination. Even after that examination, he added, the state’s “hired guns” wouldn’t say it was a homicide.

“This is not like a no-body case,” Spencer argued.

Throughout his comments, Spencer was frank about MacNeill’s life choices. He readily acknowledged that MacNeill had made mistakes — a possible reference to MacNeill’s multiple affairs or his previous conviction on fraud charges — but said those mistakes don’t amount to murder. He implored the court not to confuse character evidence with hard evidence.

Among other things, Spencer called the representation of the case “Hollywood-esque” but added that despite the media attention MacNeill ultimately didn’t kill his wife.

Defense attorneys briefly called one witness during the hearing, but will have their chance to provide more evidence during MacNeill’s trial. They have been adamant that MacNeill is innocent and that evidence eventually will clear him of the killing.

The judge’s ruling to move the case forward to trial did not surprise either prosecutors or defense attorneys. Following the hearing, Alexis Somers, Michele and MacNeill’s oldest daughter, said she was “so happy” with the ruling. Somers has been driving force in the investigation into her father and added Thursday that her father had spun a “web of lies.”

MacNeill’s arraignment hearing in the case was set for Oct. 22.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pleasant-grove-doctor-going-to-trial-on-murder-charge/article_3df05388-13c2-11e2-ba75-001a4bcf887a.html

Courts » Five-week trial of Martin MacNeill begins March 5.
By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Oct 22 2012 02:12 Pm • Updated 4 Hours Ago

Provo • A 56-year-old Pleasant Grove doctor accused of killing his wife so he could be with another woman pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice.

Martin MacNeill allegedly killed 50-year-old Michele MacNeill with a deadly mixture of prescription drugs after she came home to recover from cosmetic surgery in April 2007, according to prosecutors.

Fourth District Court Judge Samuel McVey set a five-week trial to begin March 5.

MacNeill’s pleas are a follow-up to a six-day preliminary hearing earlier this month that consisted largely of circumstantial evidence.

At the end of the preliminary hearing, McVey said there wasn’t any single piece of evidence that convinced him to advance that case to trial. But the judge rehashed a number of details of the case that, he said, seemed suspicious or showed MacNeill may have had a guilty mind.

On April 11, 2007, MacNeill picked up his 6-year-old daughter from the American Heritage School around 11:35 a.m. and drove home. The child ran upstairs and found her mother in the bathtub partially filled with reddish-brown water.

MacNeill called 911 but screamed too loudly for the dispatcher to initially make sense of the call. Later, he gave a wrong address that slowed the response. When a woman who lived next door entered the house after the MacNeill daughter went to her home for help, MacNeill said he needed a "man’s help" to pull his wife from the tub. The woman’s husband arrived at the home a few moments later, and helped get Michele MacNeill out of the tub.

Prosecutors claimed MacNeill’s motive for the murder was to continue his affair with a woman named Gypsy Willis.

Willis testified that her sexual relationship with MacNeill began in November 2005, but was "just for fun, just exciting ... Just for on the side."

But after Michele MacNeill’s death, Martin MacNeill claimed he needed support, Willis said, so he decided to bring her into the family — but he staged a meeting, pretending she was only an acquaintance and brought her into his home as a nanny.

The state medical examiner has never ruled Michele MacNeill’s death a homicide. After an autopsy in 2007, her manner of death was ruled "natural," the result of "chronic hypertension and myocarditis, which are capable of causing acute unexpected arrhythmia and sudden death."

But investigators say MacNeill called the medical examiner multiple times and gave misleading information. In 2010, in a new investigative report, Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey changed the cause of death to the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity. The manner of death was changed to "undetermined."

In recent years, other experts have also reviewed the case. A University of Utah professor of pharmacology and toxicology said he believed Michele MacNeill had taken a potentially lethal dose of medication. A medical examiner in Florida determined the immediate cause of death was drowning and that, contrary to the Utah medical examiner’s findings, there was no evidence of acute or active myocarditis.

http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile2/55125902-218/macneill-death-examiner-medical.html.csp

Martin MacNeill’s attorney asking for specifics in murder case

By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 29 minutes ago • Updated 28 minutes ago

A defense attorney for Pleasant Grove doctor Martin MacNeill — who last month was ordered to stand trial for the 2007 murder of his wife — is asking prosecutors for a detailed list of the alleged criminal acts leading to Michele MacNeill’s death.

In a motion filed in 4th District Court requesting a "bill of particulars," attorney Randy Spencer claims charging documents are not specific enough.

Spencer wants prosecutors to provide the precise time MacNeill allegedly administered drugs to his wife and the precise time of her death. He also requests the precise cause of death.

According to Spencer, prosecutors claim MacNeill gave his wife a dangerous combination of prescription drugs, after which "she was drowned at home in her bathtub or died of the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity," Spencer notes.

And during an October preliminary hearing, medical experts testified it was possible Michelle MacNeill died from natural causes related to heart arrhythmia, Spencer notes. Utah medical examiners have never ruled the woman’s death a homicide.

In addition, Judge Samuel McVey said following the preliminary hearing that there wasn’t any single piece of evidence that convinced him to advance the case to trial. The judge rehashed a number of details of the case that he said seemed suspicious or showed MacNeill may have had a guilty mind.

"Without the requested bill of particulars, [MacNeill] is left to speculate about what alleged acts he is accused of doing to cause the death of Mrs. MacNeill," Spencer wrote in his motion.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander has responded to Spencer’s request, saying that the information requested goes "well beyond" a bill of particulars, and that the probable cause statement and information from the preliminary hearing should suffice.

In April 2007, Michele MacNeill , 50, was found dead in her bathtub.

This summer, 56-year-old Martin MacNeill was charged with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice.

According to court documents, MacNeill was having an affair at the time of his wife’s death, according to court documents, and devised a plan to kill his wife in order to continue the affair.

MacNeill picked up one of his daughters from school on April 11, and when they returned home, the girl found her mother in a bathtub that was a quarter full of reddish-brown water, charges state. MacNeill called 911, but allegedly lied to the dispatcher about performing resuscitation and lied to police about events surrounding her death in an effort to hinder, delay or prevent any investigation, according to the charges.

After an autopsy in 2007, Michele MacNeill’s manner of death was ruled "natural," the result of "chronic hypertension and myocarditis, which are capable of causing acute unexpected arrhythmia and sudden death."

But investigators say MacNeill called the medical examiner multiple times and gave misleading information. In 2010, in a new investigative report, Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey changed the cause of death to the combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity. The manner of death was changed to "undetermined."

In recent years, other experts have also reviewed the case. A University of Utah professor of pharmacology and toxicology said he believed Michele MacNeill had taken a potentially lethal dose of medication. A medical examiner in Florida determined the immediate cause of death was drowning and that, contrary to the Utah medical examiner’s findings, there was no evidence of acute or active myocarditis.

A five-week trial is set to begin in March.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55270468-78/macneill-death-wife-cause.html.csp

Defense seeks more details in murder case

By Pat Reavy
November 15th, 2012 @ 8:28am

PROVO — Defense attorneys for a Pleasant Grove doctor accused of murdering his wife in order to be with his mistress want more details about the alleged crime.

Martin MacNeill, 56, was ordered last month to stand trial on charges of murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, in connection with the April 11, 2007, death of his wife, Michele MacNeill.

Prosecutors say MacNeill, after having cosmetic surgery that her husband pressured her to get, was found dead in her bathtub with a dangerous combination of prescription drugs in her system.

Defense motion

In a new motion, defense attorney Randy Spencer is requesting a bill of particulars from the state. Included in that, Spencer wants prosecutors to outline a more specific timeline on MacNeill's death, including the "precise time" his client allegedly administered the cocktail of drugs found in his wife's body, how he administered them, and the "precise" cause and time of death.

Family members of Martin Joseph MacNeill hold photos of Michele MacNeill up facing Mr. MacNeill as he makes his initial court appearance Monday, Aug. 27, 2012 in Provo.

Because medical examiners in Utah have not listed Michele MacNeill's manner of death as "homicide," Spencer said his client "is left to speculate about what alleged acts he is accused of doing to cause the death of Mrs. MacNeill."

Utah State Medical Examiner Dr. Todd Grey listed her manner of death as "undetermined." He listed the cause as heart disease combined with drug toxicity. A retired Florida medical examiner testified that MacNeill's cause of death was drowning, but said drug toxicity was a contributing factor. He concurred with the "undetermined" manner of death classification.

Spencer also wants more specific details about what Martin MacNeill did to obstruct justice.

Prosecutor's Response

Prosecutors, however, say the defense's motion "seeks information from the state that goes well beyond a bill of particulars," according to documents filed in 4th District Court. "The state is not obligated under the rules to provide the information requested."

Separate Motion
In a separate motion filed this week, the defense is also asking prosecutors to hand over:

Copies of all investigator notes related to the case
Contact information for all expert witnesses they have talked to
Copies of their conversations with expert witnesses
11 other items
Furthermore, prosecutors argue that information provided from the charging documents, a five-day preliminary hearing last month and other evidence presented in court should provide the defense with all the answers it is seeking. Deputy Utah County attorney Chad Grunander said defense attorneys are even welcome to review the state's case file in person.

Martin MacNeill allegedly had an affair with Gypsy Jyll Willis prior to his wife's death. After his wife died, Willis moved in with MacNeill as the new nanny for his children. Both were later convicted of identity fraud and sentenced to federal prison for stealing the identity of MacNeill's 16-year-old adopted daughter.

MacNeill's trial is scheduled to begin March 5 and continue through April 4.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=960&sid=22970821

Martin MacNeill in court Tuesday; wants a quick trial

Martin MacNeill was in court Tuesday for a pre-trial status and scheduling conference leading up to his murder trial for the 2007 death of his wife Michele MacNeill, 50.

“[MacNeill] wants a quick trial, … we’re going to be ready to go,” defense attorney Susanne Gustin said outside the courtroom Tuesday. Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said there should be plenty of time for preparation and there should be no problem bringing out-of-state witnesses to testify in Provo. Both the prosecution and the defense said that the trial should be resolved in less than a year.

Michele MacNeill was found dead in her bathtub in April 2007 by their six-year-old daughter. Her husband is accused of administering her a cocktail of drugs and then drowning her. Several doctors testified at a preliminary hearing but provided different conclusions about the cause of death, with one doctor determining Rachel died from drowning while another determined she died from a combination of heart disease and drug toxicity.

Shortly after his wife’s death MacNeill moved his longtime mistress, Gypsy Willis, into his house as the new nanny. Willis testified in a prior hearing that she had an affair with MacNeill beginning in 2005. Prosecutors believe MacNeill killed his wife to continue the affair with Willis.

He is charged with first-degree felony murder and second-degree obstruction of justice.

Judge Samuel McVey also decided Tuesday that he would call 120 potential jurors, selecting eight jurors and four alternates and using a questionnaire to filter out those potential jurors that have already formed an opinion about the case. The jury selection process will begin in early January.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 17 at which time defense attorneys will argue their request for a detailed list of the alleged criminal acts that led to Michele MacNeill’s death. Defense attorney Randy Spencer said they need the specifics of each act – including the date, time, and place – in order to prepare to defend against those claims.

http://wildabouttrial.com/martin-macneill-in-court-tuesday-wants-a-quick-trial/

By Jessica Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Jan 23 2013 01:01 am

Prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney’s Office admit making mistakes. But they deny allegations leveled by two defense attorneys that they broke the law by intentionally withholding evidence.

In December, Randy Spencer and Susanne Gustin ­— attorneys for Pleasant Grove doctor Martin MacNeill, who is accused of killing his wife in 2007 — filed a motion to dismiss the murder case. According to that motion, a thumb drive obtained from one of the prosecution’s expert witnesses included nearly 1,000 pages of documents that were not disclosed during the discovery process — documents the defense attorneys say could support MacNeill’s innocence.

In a Jan. 4 response to the motion, Deputy Utah County Attorney Sam Pead admits some materials in the case file were not sent directly to the defense. But he insists no laws were broken because Spencer and Gustin could have come to his office to view all the records under the department’s open records policy.

The Utah County Attorney’s Office uses an "E-discovery process" to send defense attorneys evidentiary information through an online server, Pead wrote. But not all the MacNeill documents were placed there.

"The State has no duty to send everything it has to the defense via the E-discovery process," Pead wrote. "It only has the duty of making these materials available."

Prosecutors have sent discovery materials to MacNeill’s attorneys on 20 occasions, Pead wrote, and on at least five occasions Spencer and Gustin were invited to come to Pead’s office and review the case. But the defense attorneys maintain that all the records should have been sent to them, as prosecutors are required to share any evidence that could help prove innocence.

Fourth District Court Judge Samuel McVey is expected to hear evidence on the issue on March 5.

On Thursday, another defense attorney, Brett Tolman, filed a motion alleging similar conduct by the Utah County Attorney’s Office. Tolman, who represents former Provo Municipal councilmen Steve Turley, who is facing fraud charges, asks a judge in his 166-page filing to either order prosecutors to hand over more evidence or to dismiss the case.

"As [I] began to review the discovery in order to defend the case, it became apparent that significant portions of evidence had either been inadvertently withheld from the production, or were purposely not disclosed to the defense for some reason," wrote Tolman.

Turley is facing seven counts of communications fraud, two counts of exploiting a vulnerable adult and one count of engaging in a pattern of criminal activity, all second-degree felonies stemming from private business dealings in which he allegedly took money and property from several people in order to illegally obtain more property.

Kent Hart, executive director of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the Utah County Attorney Office’s open record policy is problematic and puts the burden on defense attorneys when, legally, the burden to provide that information should be on prosecutors.

"I think this case points out something really important that the public doesn’t think about," Hart said. "We put an incredible amount of trust in the police and prosecutors. If evidence doesn’t see the light of day, we are all at risk. It’s kind of scary when you think about it. ... This is what we’re supposed to do: present everything in court and the truth will come out. It doesn’t work if the opponent doesn’t have access to the information."

Hart said he believes the best policy for prosecutors is to send a case file in its entirety to defense attorneys.

"Anything less than turning everything [over] to the defense is a smokescreen for potentially withholding evidence," he said.

Open record policies are common in Utah, said Paul Cassell, a former federal judge and current University of Utah law professor. The practice can prevent disputes about whether all the evidence has been provided because it gives defense attorneys a way to double check, he said.

"The constitution requires the evidence be made available," Cassell said. "In terms of how it is made available, that is a matter of discretion. … Asking defense attorneys to come and [review a case file] is not unusual."

Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill said his office also has an open record or discovery policy. Gill said prosecutors try to send as much information as possible to attorneys, but that the attorneys are welcome to view the case file at his office.

"We want to err on the side of caution," Gill said. "We want to move towards disclosure. … There’s no reason to try to slip one past the goalie. We don’t get paid to do that."

MacNeill’s wife, Michele MacNeill, was found dead in her bathtub in April 2007. According to court documents, MacNeill was having an affair at the time of his wife’s death and devised a plan to kill her in order to continue the affair.

On April 11, 2007, MacNeill’s young daughter found her mother in a bathtub that was a quarter full of reddish-brown water.

MacNeill called 911, but allegedly lied to the dispatcher about performing resuscitation and lied to police about events surrounding her death in an effort to hinder, delay or prevent any investigation, according to the charges.

After an autopsy in 2007, Michele MacNeill’s manner of death was ruled "natural," the result of chronic hypertension and myocarditis. However, after a review in 2010, the manner of death was changed to "undetermined," and attributed to heart disease and drug toxicity.

MacNeill has pleaded not guilty to murder and obstruction of justice. His trial is slated to begin in March.

MacNeill called 911, but allegedly lied to the dispatcher about performing resuscitation and lied to police about events surrounding her death in an effort to hinder, delay or prevent any investigation, according to the charges.

After an autopsy in 2007, Michele MacNeill’s manner of death was ruled "natural," the result of chronic hypertension and myocarditis. However, after a review in 2010, the manner of death was changed to "undetermined," and attributed to heart disease and drug toxicity.

MacNeill has pleaded not guilty to murder and obstruction of justice. His trial is slated to begin in March.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55584418-78/defense-macneill-attorneys-case.html.csp?page=2

By Emiley Morgan, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, March 5 2013 5:28 p.m. MST

A judge on Tuesday threw out a motion to dismiss the murder case against a Pleasant Grove doctor accused of killing his wife. But 4th District Judge Samuel McVey will let attorneys for Martin MacNeill, 57, pursue an alternative course in seeking to have the Utah County Attorney's Office disqualified from prosecuting him.

PROVO — A judge on Tuesday threw out a motion to dismiss the murder case against a Pleasant Grove doctor accused of killing his wife.

But 4th District Judge Samuel McVey will let attorneys for Martin MacNeill, 57, pursue an alternative course in seeking to have the Utah County Attorney's Office disqualified from prosecuting him.

"I believe the defense should be able to present their case," the judge said Tuesday, noting that he will ask defense attorneys to give a specific list of issues they want to explore. "I want to make sure this doesn't turn into a fishing expedition."

MacNeill has pleaded not guilty to murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, in the April 11, 2007, death of his wife, Michele MacNeill, 50. Prosecutors allege that MacNeill overmedicated his wife, administered a dangerous combination of drugs and drowned her in the bathtub of their home.

MacNeill was ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing in October, but his attorneys filed a motion asking for either a dismissal of the charges against their client or the disqualification of the Utah County Attorney's Office from prosecuting the case. They allege that prosecutors and investigators kept them from more than 1,000 pages of information — some of it "explosive" — that they believe points to their client's innocence.

In a hearing Tuesday, prosecutor Sam Pead argued that MacNeill failed to make a claim.

"The defense has failed to provide an adequate basis for the motion to dismiss and we ask the court to strike it," Pead said, also adding that the defense added claims after the state had responded to the motion. "The state is entitled to know the grounds when the motion is made, not after we've responded to those claims."

Defense attorney Randall Spencer reiterated some of the defense's concerns, including allegations that they didn't receive requested information that may have helped their client's case until after filing their motion, and allegations about potential witnesses interviewing one another. He said he'd be happy to file a second motion to dismiss.

"These are issues that need to be heard," Spencer said. "This is a criminal case. This is an important criminal case. This is Mr. MacNeill's life."

Another argument hearing has been set for March 25. At that point, it is anticipated that attorneys in the case will set an evidentiary hearing on the motion to disqualify the Utah County Attorney's Office.

Michele MacNeill died after her husband allegedly pressured his wife to undergo cosmetic surgery despite her concerns and, as a doctor, requested additional prescriptions the woman's surgeon said he otherwise would not have prescribed.

MacNeill had worked as a doctor and had a law degree, both of which police believe he used "to commit the murder and frustrate the investigation in an attempt to cover it up," court documents state.

Soon after his wife's death, MacNeill's longtime mistress, Gypsy Willis, moved into the MacNeill house as the children's new nanny. Prosecutors contend MacNeill killed his wife to be with Willis.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865574932/Judge-declines-to-dismiss-Martin-MacNeill-murder-case-but-will-consider-disqualifying-prosecutors.html?pg=all

September 27, 2013
In court documents filed ahead of Dr. Martin MacNeill’s high-profile murder trial, Utah County prosecutors are asking a judge to ban TV cameras from the courtroom.

A motion filed by the Utah County Attorney’s Office asks a judge to prohibit filming of the trial, alleging it could endanger inmate witnesses who would testify that MacNeill had confessed to killing his wife, Michele, in 2007.

“This inmate witness will testify that the Defendant admitted to killing his wife, how and why he killed her, that the Defendant believed authorities could not prove he killed his wife, and that the Defendant looked forward to being with a girlfriend when he was released from prison,” prosecutor Chad Grunander wrote in the motion.

Another inmate believed he would be a “dead man,” if his face were to be broadcast on television, prosecutors wrote.

The case against Dr. MacNeill has drawn national media attention that has only intensified as it has moved closer to trial. Television magazine shows have devoted hours to the case of the Utah County doctor accused of killing his wife so he could be with his mistress.

Utah recently adopted a rule allowing TV cameras inside courtrooms, carving into it a presumption of openness. TruTV has expressed an interest in broadcasting portions of the trial, according to a court motion filed by an attorney for CNN.

“Prohibiting the television cameras is not going to solve the harm the state is alleging,” said Jeff Hunt, a media attorney who is representing CNN in this case. “The identity of these prison witnesses is well know, it’s plastered all over public records, it’s in the public domain. All banning television cameras will do is prohibit the public from actually seeing and hearing what happens in a courtroom.”

MacNeill’s trial is expected to last more than a month when it begins on Oct. 15. Prosecutors claim MacNeill drugged and drowned his wife in a bathtub inside their home, so he could continue an affair with a woman.

But in a new filing, defense attorneys offered an alibi for MacNeill: he was at work.

“At the time Michele MacNeill passed away, Martin MacNeill was at the Utah State Developmental Center,” defense attorney Randall Spencer wrote in a motion.

The alibi defense claims that MacNeill went to work between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on April 11, 2007 — leaving only to take his daughters to school and was back at work at 9 a.m. He left the Utah State Developmental Center again at 11:30 to pick up one of his daughters.

Defense attorneys claim witnesses can corroborate MacNeill’s alibi, but Greg Skordas, a criminal defense attorney who is not connected to the case, said they can be risky. Unlike reasonable doubt, which challenges the burden of proof the state offers — an alibi offers a completely different theory of the case.

“The risk is that the jury will say, ‘the state’s case is more believable. We like the state’s case, and defense you haven’t put on a good case and therefore we don’t have much doubt about the state’s evidence,’” Skordas told FOX 13. “We’ll wait and see what the defense case holds, but that’s the risk you run when, as a defense attorney, you say, ‘Oh no, no, the state’s got it wrong. Here’s what really happened.’”

MacNeill’s trial is expected to begin on Oct. 15 and last more than a month.
(6 years to bring this man to trial!)

http://fox13now.com/2013/09/27/prosecutors-want-tv-cameras-banned-from-macneill-trial/

9/30/2013

A Utah judge has opened the trial of a Utah doctor who has been charged in the murder of his wife to television coverage.

This could be Utah's first televised trial since cameras were allowed into the state courts.

Dr. Martin MacNeill is scheduled to begin appearing in court on Oct. 15 for a scheduled five weeks. Court officials say the cable network "In Session" is expressing interest in covering the trial.

Prosecutors opposed televised coverage by arguing it could endanger two inmates who plan to testify MacNeill incriminated himself in jail.

The judge stated he will prohibit any video or photography of the inmates, but not audio from their testimony.

MacNeill's wife was found dead in 2007 in a bathtub at the couple's Pleasant Grove home, about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.

http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_7125.shtml

The trial of Dr. Martin MacNeill may rival that of Jodi Arias for lurid, sensational details.

He's accused of using his medical knowledge to kill his wife, just days after making her get plastic surgery. Authorities say he drugged her heavily during her recuperation. She was found dead in the bathtub. But there are conflicting accounts, from MacNeill himself, about the position of her body. There's "another woman," stolen identities, reports of sexual assaults, and other crimes that figure into this complex story.

All but one of his 8 children believe MacNeill killed their mother. The son who doubted his guilt committed suicide.

What a sad story. Its bad enough he killled his wife (reminds you of what Drew did to Kathleen and almost got away with it, too) but his son committing suicide brings the death toll to two- all b/c he couldn't keep his junk in his pants. Horrible, grose, and disgusting. Hope he fries!!!!

Oct. 11, 2013



Family fireworks are on full display in a Utah courtroom where a judge is expected to decide next week whether a 12-year-old girl should testify in her father's upcoming murder trial after finding her mother dead in a bathtub in 2007.

Martin MacNeill, 58, a once-prominent doctor and former Mormon Sunday school teacher, is accused of killing his wife in April 2007 to pursue a relationship with his mistress, prosecutors say.

Investigators say MacNeill "intentionally overdosed" Michele MacNeill, 50, after she had plastic surgery, because she had approached him about his alleged affair. Martin MacNeill was arrested in September 2012 and charged with first-degree murder. He has denied the allegations.

Defense attorney Susanne Gustin argued Tuesday that MacNeill's youngest daughter, Ada, should not be allowed to take the stand. The defense says prosecutors allowed Ada's older sister, Alexis Somers, to interview her and potentially swayed her answers.

Prosecutors say there's no evidence Ada's testimony is tainted even though MacNeill's older daughters have long-believed their father is guilty of the alleged crime. MacNeill's other daughter, Rachel MacNeill, also believes her father is guilty.
"He had a plan to murder my mother, and this was just part of his plan," Somers told ABC News in 2012.

Somers and Rachel MacNeill are expected to be among the prosecution's star witnesses. Martin MacNeill's daughters and other family members have consistently been a presence in the court during pre-trial hearings, often clutching pictures of their mother as they glared at their father.

MacNeill's alleged affair with Gypsy Willis, who moved into the family's home as a nanny weeks after Michele MacNeill's death, is also on the witness list.

The judge has also allowed Martin MacNeill's fellow inmates to take the stand and jury selection is expected to take place next week in a trial that pits a patriarch against his own family.

Investigators believe MacNeill drugged and drowned his wife, who was found unconscious in the bathtub. Prosecutors believe MacNeill gave his wife a dangerous combination of Valium, Percocet and Ambien while recovering from a facelift they say he compelled her to have.

"I think he drugged my mother and drowned her," Somers said outside court in 2012. "It's been horrifying, and horrifying that we had to wait for this day so long."

MacNeill says his wife drowned in the bath tub and he dialed 911 to call for help.

Somers described to ABC News' "20/20" what Ada told her on the day she found her mother dead.
"Ada said that my dad told her to check on your mother. My dad stayed in the kitchen while she went into the bathroom and found her," Somers said.

MacNeill also served three years in a Texas federal prison for fraud and was released in July 2012.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/murder-trial-pits-accused-utah-doctor-daughters/story?id=20538976

October 15, 2013

Attorneys have begun vetting more than 100 potential jurors for the trial of a once-prominent Utah doctor accused of giving his wife a fatal dose of drugs six years ago so he could continue an affair.

There are 102 prospective jurors at the courthouse in Provo on Tuesday, said Utah courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer. Opening arguments are set to begin Thursday in a trial scheduled to last six weeks.

Prosecutors have portrayed 57-year-old Martin MacNeill as a lying adulterer who pestered his 50-year-old wife, Michele MacNeill, to get a face-lift and persuaded her plastic surgeon to prescribe a mix of potentially lethal pills for her recovery.

Days after the 2007 procedure, the couple's then-6-year-old daughter found Michele MacNeill's body in a bathtub at the couple's home in Pleasant Grove, about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Medical examiners haven't determined the cause of her death and have never ruled it a homicide.

But investigators and family members claim Martin MacNeill killed his wife to continue an affair with a woman he later moved into his home.

The couple's two oldest daughters, Rachel MacNeill and Alexis Somers, have been outspoken in their belief that their father killed their mother. They've gone on national TV with their claims and even sat in his court hearings holding up photographs of Michele MacNeill.

But MacNeill has maintained his innocence throughout. His attorney, Randy Spencer, said there is no evidence tying the doctor to the murder, telling the Deseret News that the case against MacNeill is mainly circumstantial and full of stereotypes out of a Hollywood movie.

MacNeill briefly had the support of his son, Damian MacNeill, who publicly defended his father in late 2009. But Damian MacNeill committed suicide soon after, and none of the other seven siblings have defended their father.

The sordid case is certain to draw television coverage, which a Utah judge authorized last month.

Michelle MacNeill was a former beauty queen who fell in love with a handsome doctor who also had a law degree. The couple got married, had eight children and made their home in an upscale house near the snow-capped mountains of Utah. Michelle MacNeill's life revolved around her children while Martin MacNeill established a successful medical practice. It was seemingly a picture-perfect family.

But that image was shattered when the body of Michelle MacNeill was found in April 2007.

Martin MacNeill was long under suspicion by Utah County authorities for his wife's death. But he wasn't charged until about five years later, shortly after he was released from federal prison in Texas for fraud. His children fueled the speculation as they learned about their father's hidden past full of affairs and fraud.

"His whole life was a lie," daughter Alexis Somers told The Associated Press in 2011. "Our family was a facade, just so he could do terrible things."

The woman with whom he allegedly had an affair also served prison time for fraud. The allegations included forging a document that said they were married on April 14, 2007 — the day of Michele MacNeill's funeral.

Investigators also said he used falsified records to get into medical schools in Mexico and California, and later into Brigham Young University Law School.

In 2009, Martin MacNeill pleaded guilty to three felonies for lying to investigators. Another case, in which he's charged with felony forcible sexual abuse, is pending in state court.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jury-selected-utah-doctors-murder-trial-20571823

Gads, hope the heavyset woman w/ the long dark hair doesn't chew that (I still think thats disrespectful to the court, as well as making her look like a cow chewing her cud...) and play with her hair the whole trial.  Shes distracting & annoying.  JMO
The defense lawyer (the male) seems to be a little daffy, especially during his first objection during opening statements.
Again, JMO.

http://wildabouttrial.com/martin-macneill-live-stream.html

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LIVE NOW: Martin MacNeill trial: Utah doctor accused of killing his wife. Watch: http://bit.ly/18sWkLV via @WildAboutTrial
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BTW Salmon tie spotted on the state attorney. #SalmonHwartchin' #MartinMacNeill
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State calls Angela Aguilar (sp?). #MartinMacNeill

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Neighbor of MacNeills' describes seeing Michele in the bathtub & MacNeill hunched over her. She left to call her husband. #MartinMacNeill
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Two of Martin MacNeill's daughters and other family members hold up pictures of their mother as they glared at their shackled father in the Provo courtroom.

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10/22/2013

Loud, angry, agitated and animated is how several emergency responders described the actions and demeanor of Martin MacNeill on April 11, 2007.

Officer Josh Motsinger with the Pleasant Grove Police department was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene and said when he arrived he found MacNeill in the bathroom doing chest compressions on his wife, Michele MacNeill.

“He was yelling at her, ‘Why did you do this? Why did you do this?’ Then he struck her in the chest with one hand,” Motsinger testified.

MacNeill is charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, in the 2007 death of his wife Michele. MacNeill was charged in August 2012, nearly five years after his former beauty queen wife was found in a bathtub at the couple’s Pleasant Grove home.

Prosecutors allege that MacNeill gave his wife a deadly combination of drugs in order to pursue an affair with Gypsy Willis, while defense attorneys say that Michele died from a heart condition. The five-week trial will resume on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

Pleasant Grove Fire Chief Marc Sanderson was the second witness to take the stand Tuesday and said that when he arrived on scene that day Martin MacNeill was on the front porch.

“I was drawn to him because of the way he was acting. He was very excited, very loud, it was obviously his wife” Sanderson said. “I was drawn away from patient care in an attempt to remove him from that location. He was just loud, was giving us orders as far as treatment and care we needed to do for Michele.”

Sanderson testified that MacNeill was very agitated and angry the entire time that emergency crews worked on Michele MacNeill and that his disruptive behavior continued to the emergency room where ER staff had to call security because of his behavior.

Steven Brande, a paramedic for Pleasant Grove in 2007, also testified that MacNeill was very agitated and that his behavior was distracting to the life-saving efforts they were trying to perform on his wife. Brande also said that he was concerned for his safety because of the erratic behavior of MacNeill.

Both Brande and Sanderson testified that MacNeill seemed very angry with God and was yelling about his contributions, donations and standing in the LDS Church and that this is “how God repays him.”

Dave Thomas, deputy fire chief for Pleasant Grove Fire Department, said the comments about religion caught him off guard.

“He was essentially cursing God,” Thomas said. “He basically said, ‘After all that I’ve done for you and all the time I’ve spent in the church, why have you done this to me?’”

Dan Beckstrom and Marc Wright, both of whom were employed by Pleasant Grove Police at the time of Michele MacNeill’s death also were called to testify. Beckstrom described Martin MacNeill as hysterical and said his shouting was very random and unfocused except for when he gave orders to the paramedics as they brought his wife out of the home.

“There was a lack of focus with his shouting, the only time he did focus was when he questioned the medics. That’s the only time he wasn’t random in his hysteria,” Beckstrom said.

Inconsistencies in what Michele MacNeill was wearing continued Tuesday morning as all three witnesses that were called testified that she was wearing something different. Sanderson testified that she had on a white undergarment top and pink bottoms, while Brande said he believed she was wearing a white shirt, undergarment top and possibly white undergarment bottoms. Officer Josh Motsinger with the Pleasant Grove Police Department said that Michele was wearing top undergarments and a bra.

Wright, who a detective at the time of the incident, took several photographs of the scene including one that showed a pile of clothes containing a long-sleeved black shirt, bra and undergarment top. Other photographs showed blood and water on the floor in the bathroom.

A former coworker of MacNeill’s, Steven Mickelson, was the final witness called Tuesday. Mickelson testified that he and MacNeill had responded to code scenes together at the Utah State Developmental Center and that on occasion MacNeill could be very animated and high anxiety during those incidents. Mickelson also testified that he was surprised when MacNeill returned to work a short time after his wife’s death and that when MacNeill did return to work he was wearing a different wedding ring on his finger than he had prior to Michele MacNeill’s death.

Mickelson said that when he asked what had happened, MacNeill told him that he had found his wife facedown the wrong way in the tub and that the tub was full of bloody water.

Mickelson also testified that in 2002, he wrote two prescriptions for Michele MacNeill for Loritab and Valium, both for 30 pills each, at the request of Martin MacNeill and that Martin had told him Michele had some neck pain.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/he-was-yelling-at-her-first-responders-testify-in-martin/article_8434ecc4-3b25-11e3-ba23-0019bb2963f4.html

Martin MacNeill, second-from-right, stands during his trial at the Fourth District Court in Provo on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013


Family members of Michele MacNeill listen during the trial of Martin MacNeill at the Fourth District Court in Provo on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013