Des Moines, Iowa — In April of this year, the news was that an Estherville man convicted of a 2015 murder would get a new trial after a ruling by the Iowa Court of Appeals. In July, the Iowa Court of Appeals said it will reconsider that ruling after a request by the Iowa Attorney General’s office. Now the Iowa Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments in the case on Tuesday, October 9th.
Lee Christensen had appealed his July 2016 Second Degree Murder conviction, and the accompanying fifty-year prison sentence, contending he had not received a fair trial in the shooting death of Thomas Bortvit of Estherville. Christensen contended that his Iowa and US Constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law were violated in the trial due to a number of factors, including the possibility that some of the jurors made their decision because of social media posts, specifically a Facebook post, or by community comments about threats of public disorder or violence if Christensen was not convicted of First Degree Murder. District Court Judge David Lester heard the original argument in 2016 and after hearing a guilty verdict from the jury, ruled against Christensen.
In April 2018, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed Christensen’s conviction and sentence and remanded the case back to Emmet County District Court for a retrial, according to court records. That decision for a retrial is what’s to be reconsidered on October 9th.
Christensen was originally convicted of Second Degree Murder in the shooting death of 19-year old Thomas Bortvit, of Estherville. Bortvit’s family reported him missing on June 6th of 2015, and Estherville authorities, along with the help of volunteers, searched southern Estherville. Police and Emmet County Sheriff’s officers located Bortvit’s body late the next afternoon, and immediately launched an investigation into his death. That investigation resulted in First Degree Murder charges being filed against Christensen, who was found and arrested at the Minneapolis airport the next day. At the end of Christensen’s First Degree Murder trial, the jury returned a verdict of Guilty of Second Degree Murder in the case.
The hearing on October 9th will actually take place in Red Oak at the Wilson Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. The Supreme Court occasionally hears oral arguments in venues other than Des Moines. A court spokesperson says they do this as an opportunity for more Iowans to see firsthand how the justice system and the rule of law operate to settle disputes and ensure the rights of all Iowans are fairly and impartially protected. The justices visit schools in the area the next day as an educational opportunity.
