HEBER CITY — Convicted double murderer John Pinder's quest for a new trial was supposed to end Friday in what was intended to be the final installment in a series of hearings that have spanned the past year and a half.
But final arguments will not be heard until March 13.
After that, 4th District Judge Lynn Davis said he will issue a decision within 30 days.
During the series of hearings, attorneys for the former Duchesne County rancher have endeavored to show that detectives overlooked evidence that pointed to one of Pinder's ranch hands as the trigger man in the October 1998 murders of Rex Tanner and June Flood.
At Friday's hearing, attorneys Andrew Parnes and Robert Gold called several family members and friends of witness David Brunyer who testified they believe Brunyer was the man who killed Tanner and Flood, not Pinder.
Brunyer, who also worked as a ranch hand for Pinder, testified against Pinder during his murder trial two years ago, fingering him as the man who murdered Tanner and Flood.
Prosecutors alleged that Pinder and ranch hand Filomeno Valenchia-Ruiz kidnapped the couple, beat them and then executed them in a remote area on Pinder's property. Ruiz testified that Pinder suspected the two had been stealing drugs from him. Dynamite was then used to get rid of the bodies.
A jury convicted Pinder of the murders and he was sentenced to two life sentences. Ruiz, in a plea agreement, also was sentenced to prison.
But during Friday's hearing, David Brunyer's brother, Robert Brunyer, took the stand to testify that David Brunyer told him on numerous occasions that Pinder was not involved in the murders and that it was David Brunyer himself who aided Ruiz in the killings.
Robert Brunyer, who initially told police that his brother had nothing to do with the murders, said Friday that he lied to police shortly after the murders.
"I was still trying to protect my brother at that time," Robert Brunyer said, adding that last year the truth drove him to contact Pinder's attorney. "I figured there was a guy sitting in prison for life who didn't pull the trigger."
Robert Brunyer's girlfriend, Christy Barnes, also testified that David Brunyer on several occasions threatened to kill her if she told police about the alleged confession.
Deputy Utah Attorney General Michael Wims questioned their motive for pinning the murders on David Brunyer. Wims said Robert Brunyer and Barnes were arrested and convicted of burglary and theft of a firearm after David Brunyer turned them into police. Barnes is serving a sentence at the Utah State Prison for firearm possession.
Robert Brunyer admitted on the stand that although he had at one time been very close to his brother, their relationship soured after his brother turned him in to police.
Wims also said that Robert Brunyer's claims that his brother told him about the murders and that Pinder was in Wyoming at the time of the murders do not match testimony from the trial. Wims noted that Pinder and his girlfriend testified at trial that they were in town that day.
When asked to explain why David Brunyer took the stand to implicate Pinder at trial, Robert Brunyer said his brother told him that Ruiz put a gun to his ribs after the murders and forced him to pin the murders on Pinder or Ruiz would go after Brunyer's family.
The statement prompted Davis to question the logic of the statement. "How much had you been drinking?" the judge asked. "Because that is a most confusing statement."
Robert Brunyer said he and his brother had been drinking on most of the occasions when the murder was discussed.
LeeAnn Hill, David Brunyer's older sister, testified she believes her brother killed Tanner and Flood because of the use of explosives. Hill said her brother always had a penchant for explosives.
But David Brunyer's wife, Shirley Brunyer, took the stand to say his brother and sister could not be trusted.
Defense attorney Parnes has argued that evidence pointing to David Brunyer was never introduced at trial and that had the evidence been included, a jury would not have convicted Pinder.
"Our position is that none of this matters," said Wims, speaking for the prosecution. "Even if you put these witnesses on the witness stand at trial, the outcome would be the same."
Wims said Pinder has already taken the stand to place himself in the area at the time of the murders and has already testified to helping dispose of the bodies. Wims said three other witnesses also testified at trial that Pinder later admitted to killing Tanner and Flood.
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