Orange City, Iowa — A 71-year-old Spirit Lake man who was convicted of second-degree murder in a Sioux County case earlier this spring and has filed a motion for a new trial is now seeking a change of venue for the trial.
According to the Sioux County Attorney’s office, over a year ago, Grant Wayne Wilson of Cleghorn and Gregg Winterfeld of Spirit Lake spent the day drinking alcohol at Winterfeld’s mother’s place near Ireton. An argument developed and Wilson decided to sleep in a car parked in the driveway. Winterfeld locked the home’s doors, put on a holster with a loaded revolver, exiting the home and convincing Wilson to come back inside. Upon reentry, the argument continued and Wilson attempted to leave. Winterfeld allegedly pursued and un-holstered his gun. Wilson turned around, and according to Winterfeld, Wilson gave Winterfeld a look, so Winterfeld allegedly raised his gun aiming as close as he could get between Wilson’s eyes and fired.
A jury convicted Winterfeld this past April.
His attorney filed a motion for a new trial, objecting to the playing of an alleged confession to the jury, and the playing and providing the transcript of 29 voicemails between Winterfeld and his significant other. They say Winterfeld believes that, “…due to adverse rulings made by the Court in pretrial motions and during trial, he was denied a fair trial and this violated his rights [under both the US and Iowa constitutions.]”
The motion asserted that the court should, “…grant a new trial because the weight of the evidence is insufficient to sustain the verdict of guilty.”
A new trial was granted last month due to a technicality. In a murder trial, the defense and prosecution should have had 10 peremptory challenges to potential jurors, but they were only granted six each. Now Winterfeld’s attorney says he would like the new trial held elsewhere. In his motion for change of venue, attorney Brendan Kelly says that the first trial drew “immediate attention in the local community, not only impacting the lives and families of all those originally called in for jury selection, but those who served on the panel. The results of the verdict were aired throughout the Sioux county community, including Spirit Lake, including the local newspapers, radio and on TV, Following the Order for a new trial, that information has been aired in the local newspapers, on the radio and on TV, generating additional publicly. Local sentiment against Defendant apparently continues to run contrary to his receiving a fair trial in Sioux County.”
Currently, the trial is scheduled for October 5th. A hearing on the change of venue is scheduled for September 3rd.
