(Spencer)– Defense attorneys for a Spencer man charged with first degree murder are trying to change two key points in the case against their client.
A pre-trial hearing for Harold Duncan was set for last Monday, but was postponed at the last minute. Duncans’ attorneys, John Sandy and Ned Bjornstad, filed some motions that would suppress all evidence collected at the crime scene. They say law enforcement officers should have obtained a search warrant before entering the Duncan residence. Assistant Clay County Attorney Mike Houchins says police were making a welfare check at the Duncan home after Karen’s employer called because she didn’t show up for work. Houchins adds Harold Duncan would have bled to death if officers had waited for a search warrant.
Attorneys for Harold Duncan are also seeking a defense of diminished responsibility.
Duncan is accused of shooting his wife Karen Kay and then turning the gun on himself in an unsuccessful suicide attempt on January 13 of this year at their mobile home in Spencer.
The judge has yet to rule on the new motions filed by the defense.
Duncan’s trial is still set for August 19th in Clay County District Court.
(From Danielle Hitchings of sister station KDWD Hot 100 in Spencer).
