Prosecutors and defense dispute trial procedures in Nordquist case
Thursday's court date was for a motions hearing, intended to hash out some of the technicalities and complexities behind this case. And, establish how future court proceedings will look for each of the defendants.
The seven suspects are accused of torturing and killing Nordquist. Each suspect pleaded not guilty to all of their charges back in March.
Thursday was considered a motions hearing where both the prosecution and defense attorneys moved towards how their respective cases will proceed once they go to trial.
While the defense attorneys argued that each case should be tried separately, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Victoria Porter said the request for this is premature.
'We have to determine first if we can use the statements that were elicited by the defendants and then determine if and how we would sever the case,' Porter said.
All seven suspects face charges including first degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child.
All suspects, except Thomas Eaves, have been charged with concealment of a human corpse.
A major discussion inside the courtroom revolved around Discovery Laws, which are the procedures prosecutors are expected to follow to present their evidence to the defense in a timely fashion.
Porter said this evidence is being handed over as soon as its able to.
'The discovery in this case is voluminous, there's many things outstanding. This is an active police investigation, there are things that are being created even as we speak that have yet to be turned over to the defense attorney,' Porter said. 'Realistically though, there may be discovery coming far past the hearing dates. There's still material being tested at the lab for example, and things that need to be tested.'
The legal team for Arzuaga requested a change in venue in respect to the fairness of her future trial. The prosecution countered, saying due to this case making national headlines, it isn't necessary.
Porter also addressed the legal challenges ahead and the emotional toll this has had on Nordquist's family and friends.
'I know that this is a difficult process and its slow and its painful and they don't have a lot of the information that we all get,' Porter said.
We learned all seven suspects will be due back in court in early September — where the court is expected to proceed on some of the motions raised Thursday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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