Could 8,000 pages of police reports in Jill Behrman murder mean new trial for John Myers?
Two women praying for justice — one whose daughter was murdered and one whose son was convicted of the crime — attended a federal appeals court hearing Wednesday to hear lawyers argue about whether a new trial might be in order.
At issue are approximately 8,000 pages of unreleased documents contained in Bloomington Police Department and FBI files from the years-long investigation into the disappearance and murder of 19-year-old Jill Behrman.
The defense argued the documents could have been relevant to jurors, while the state contended Myers' lawyer had access to grand jury proceedings and pertinent investigative reports back in 2006 and nothing was kept back.
Behrman, an Indiana University student who lived with her parents in Bloomington, disappeared on a Wednesday morning bike ride on May 31, 2000. The search for her continued until her body was found by a turkey hunter in a Morgan County woods in 2003.
More on the case: Twenty years ago today, Jill Behrman went on a bike ride and never returned
An examination of her remains showed Behrman had been shot in the head with a shotgun.
Three years later, John Myers, who lived near Ellettsville, was convicted of her murder by jurors in Morgan County who heard a case based on circumstantial evidence.
Myers maintains his innocence, as does his mother, Jodie Myers, who said so outside the federal courthouse in Indianapolis Wednesday when a TV reporter inquired.
The victim's mother, Marilyn Behrman, told the FOX 59 reporter she is convinced Myers killed her daughter.
She told The Herald-Times she thought the arguments went well on Wednesday. She said the lawyer from the attorney general's office who represented the state made clear the police reports in question were not relevant to the outcome of the case.
Clifford Berlow, from the law firm Jenner & Block, is representing Myers in this appeal, one of several that have advanced to the federal level. He said all of the information available from police agencies should have been turned over to Myers' trial lawyer.
"Powerful evidence in those files casts serious doubt on Mr. Myers’ guilt," Berlow said in a statement. "We believe that when the court reviews those materials it will come to the only possible conclusion: that Mr. Myers did not receive a fair trial and was wrongfully convicted.”
U.S. District Judge James Sweeney, whose ruling in Myers' favor in a previous appeal was overturned, took the case under advisement.
Appeal: Federal judge orders Myers' release from prison in two weeks
Myers was sentenced to a 65-year prison term, the maximum for murder in Indiana. With credit for good behavior, his prison term ends in 2037.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Could 8,000 pages of police reports mean a new trial for John Myers?
