Defense attorneys representing the student charged in connection to the fatal shooting at Marshall County High School earlier this year have reportedly filed a motion in circuit court that the school system and its lawyers have tampered with witnesses in the case.
West Kentucky Star reports the motion was filed November 21 in Marshall Circuit Court and calls for an evidentiary hearing to determine if tampering occurred and to prevent it in the future. West Kentucky Star says they received documents this week that claim the defense team interviewed several witnesses in the case, but others have refused and indicated they were advised not to talk to Gabe Parker’s legal team. Some teachers reportedly told the defense team they got advice from attorneys representing the school system, and parents and students said they were told by teachers to refuse to grant interviews.
According to West Kentucky Star, they spoke with Superintendent Trent Lovett Wednesday and he stated no one from the school district has ever told anyone that they could not speak with defense attorneys in the case. He did say that some teachers had contacted him after receiving letters from a company called “Mitigation Matters” in reference to the case and that he advised them that they were not legally required to speak with anyone unless ordered by a subpoena.
The motion is set to be heard at 1:00 Friday afternoon in Marshall Circuit Court.
Parker is charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of first-degree assault in connection to a shooting at Marshall County High School on January 23 that claimed the lives of 15-year old Bailey Holt and 15-year old Preston Cope and injured several other students.
