SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An attorney is challenging a judge's decision to grant a third trial to a man convicted of killing three members of a New Mexico family with a pickax in 2011. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports District Attorney Marco Serna has filed a notice of intent to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. Nicholas Ortiz was found guilty of killing three members of an El Rancho family in December 2016 after a second trial. Ortiz's first trial in June 2016 resulted in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Ortiz's attorney, Dan Marlowe, asked District Judge Francis J. Mathew to grant Ortiz a new trial. Marlowe, who defended Ortiz in the previous trials, is asking to withdraw from the case because Ortiz can't pay him.
Prosecutor appeals ruling for 3rd trial for convicted killer
Twitter LinkedIn Email