In the defense of 48-year-old Harold “Butch” Jett, attorney Michael Bufkin filed three motions during Wednesday’s session of Trigg County Circuit Court — asking for the discovery, access to the crime scene and the preservation of evidence involving the October 14, 2021 murder of his aunt, Mary Dullenty.
Bufkin stated to Circuit Judge C.A. “Woody” Woodall III and Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins that his main reason for the motions is that officer’s notes during investigations too often get destroyed before being reviewed by the defense.
Ovey-Wiggins stated she wouldn’t need much time to respond to the three motions, noting she’d be turning over current discovery soon and likely wouldn’t object to the other two motions. She did, however, want some extra time to read Bufkin’s motions more thoroughly, and that she could have a written response in a couple of weeks.
Woodall III set Jett’s next pre-trial conference at 4 p.m., February 8.
Jett, an Illinois man, was indicted by the December session of Trigg County’s grand jury for the murder of his aunt, as well as first-degree fleeing from police, first-degree burglary, speeding 26 miles per hour or over and first-degree strangulation.
He was arrested following a police pursuit that ended at Dullenty’s Hilltop Street residence just outside of Cadiz. Earlier that October 14, the Trigg County Sheriff’s Department had responded to a disturbance on the South Road reportedly caused by Jett, where he’s currently accused of shooting a vehicle during an altercation.
Dullenty reportedly died of blunt force trauma. Jett remains incarcerated in the Christian County Jail under a $1 million cash bond. Bufkin waived formal reading of the arraignment Wednesday, and formally entered a “not guilty” plea for his client.
