The lawyer for Michael Gianakos has asked a judge to move his client's newly granted murder trial out of Clay County.
In papers filed with the court, defense attorney Peter Karlsson has also asked Clay County District Court Judge Galen Vaa for an outright dismissal of the case.
Following a hearing before Vaa Thursday, Karlsson said Gianakos's first-degree murder indictment, handed down by a grand jury in 1999, now lacks probable cause because it was based on evidence the state Supreme Court recently ruled inadmissible.
The high court found that the state's marital privilege law should have barred Gianakos's wife, Jamie Dennis-Gianakos, from testifying at her husband's trial in 2000.
Dennis-Gianakos testified that in 1997 her husband killed the couple's baby sitter, AnneMarie Camp, with a shotgun to prevent her from testifying against the couple in a theft case. According to Karlsson, the indictment against Gianakos was based heavily on the story told by Dennis-Gianakos.
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At trial, a jury found Gianakos guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. The recent high court decision overturned his conviction and the case was sent back to Clay County for a new trial.
At Thursday's hearing, Judge Vaa gave Karlsson and the Clay County Attorney's Office time to file memorandums regarding the change of venue request as well as a defense request to suppress certain evidence.
Vaa said those issues will be dealt with at a hearing that will likely take place in early July. He said the motion for dismissal will be handled at a hearing subsequent to that hearing.
Gianakos is being held in the Clay County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond.
Readers can reach Moorhead Bureau Chief Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
