Defense attorney for Conrad Truman asks for murder conviction to be tossed

A defense attorney for an Orem man recently convicted of killing his wife has asked a judge to throw out a jury's guilty verdicts, in part, because the prosecution made an allegedly inappropriate reference to the movie, "Dumb and Dumber," during closing arguments.

In late October, a jury found 32-year-old Conrad Mark Truman guilty of first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice in the 2012 death of his wife, Heidy Truman.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 15, however, Truman's attorney is now asking 4th District Judge Samuel McVey to arrest judgment in the case, claiming prosecutor misconduct and issues with a juror.

In a motion filed last Thursday, defense attorney Ron Yengich argued that two statements in prosecutor Craig Johnson's closing arguments were inappropriate: that Johnson had referred to defense counsel's theory as a "red herring," and that Johnson had compared the defense argument to "Dumb and Dumber." This constituted a "personal attack" on Yengich, he argued.

At trial, Johnson quoted a character in the movie who, when told there is a one in a million chance he'd have a relationship with a woman, responds, "So you're telling me there's a chance."

Johnson used the movie quote in reference to Yengich's argument that there was a chance that Heidy Truman's death was an accident, though the medical examiner testified that it was an extremely unlikely possibility.

Johnson also told the jury to "not let certain theories be a red herring to you, to distract you from certain evidence that is before you," pointing to what he deemed "minuscule" details that were emphasized by defense counsel at trial, such as that Heidy Truman's legs were partially shaved before her death.

In a written response on Monday, Johnson asked for the Dec. 15 sentencing to go forward. Johnson noted that the judge already had ruled on the issues at trial. McVey found that the "red herring" statement was permissible and did not cross the line for closing arguments. As for the "Dumb and Dumber" reference, the judge said, "I did not hear any disrespect to opposing counsel."

Yengich also asked McVey to arrest judgment in the case due to "potential jury misconduct and inappropriate contact of jurors by outside individuals during the course of the trial."

Johnson argued in response that Yengich had waived his juror misconduct challenge when he kept the "potentially troubled juror" on the panel, but did not elaborate on what the specific issue was with the juror in question.

As of Tuesday morning, McVey had not made any decision on the motion, and sentencing was still set for next Monday. Truman faces a mandatory prison sentence of 15 years to life on the murder charge. The obstructing justice conviction is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Heidy Truman died on Sept. 30, 2012, after she was shot in the head in her Orem home. Conrad Truman, who testified in his own defense at trial, told jurors that the couple had been watching the television shows "Dexter" and "Homeland" while drinking Maker's Mark whiskey that evening when, at some point, he heard yelling outside.

Conrad Truman testified that he grabbed his dog and his gun and went to investigate. He did see a strange man on his walk, he testified, and told his wife about it when he returned home.

The couple continued talking about various topics, including whether they should get another dog, when Heidy Truman became irritated with him and decided to take a bath, the husband testified.

After about 20 minutes, Conrad Truman said he heard a pop and saw his wife, naked in the hallway, bleeding and choking.

The husband testified that somehow both he and his wife ended up on the floor. He tried to perform CPR and called 911.

When police arrived, they found blood everywhere — in the kitchen where Heidy Truman's naked body lay, in the front entry, the living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and on Truman himself.

When charges were filed, prosecutors had said the motive for the alleged murder was that Conrad Truman stood to inherit nearly $1 million in life insurance benefits upon his wife's death.

But when prosecutors presented evidence of the Trumans' life insurance policies at trial, they backed away from labeling it as a "motive" for the crime. Instead, Johnson argued that the shooting was the result of an alcohol-fueled disagreement or argument before Heidy Truman took her bath.

Yengich repeatedly told the jury that his client was innocent, and that Heidy Truman likely died by accident — that she shot herself when she slipped and fell while holding a handgun after taking a bath.

jmiller@sltrib.com

Twitter: @jm_miller