ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The attorney for Trenton Forster, the man found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Officer Blake Snyder, filed for a new trial last week.
The court filing argued that Elizabeth Snyder's testimony was irrelevant to the trial and that officers lining the halls of the courtroom during the trial "likely intimidated jurors," and other irrelevant evidence was permitted.
In the filing, Attorney Stephen Reynolds said the defense objected during the trial to Elizabeth Snyder testifying, but the judge overruled the objection. He said there was no dispute that Blake Snyder was the victim of the shooting and Elizabeth Snyder's testimony only identified Blake Snyder as the victim.
Reynolds said no uniformed officers were allowed in the courtroom, but they did congregate in the hallway outside the courtroom, and likely intimidated jurors as they got off the elevator and walked into the courtroom.
The filing also said the judge made mistakes in allowing multiple pieces of evidence, including recordings of jailhouse calls in which Forster said "f--- the police". He argued that the recording, which was made eight months after the shooting, was not related to Forster's state of mind at the time of the shooting.
The filing is asking to acquit Forster on all counts or vacate the results and set up a new trial.
