<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Nine pretrial motions — five filed by the defense and four by prosecutors ??— were heard in state district court Friday in the case against Felix Vail.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Vail, 77, is charged with second-degree murder in the October 1962 drowning death of his wife, Mary Horton Vail. He was indicted in 2013. His trial will begin Aug. 8.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Public defender Josh Monroe said Friday that the 50-year span between the death — initially ruled an accident — and the indictment “has done much prejudicial damage” to Vail and his health.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Monroe said evidence has been lost and witnesses have died in the intervening years. He called Vail’s three years of pretrial incarceration “oppressive” and described media coverage of the case as “numerous and invasive.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Prosecutor Carla Sigler said evidence was collected in the case from 2011 to 2012 and that there was only a one-year delay in indicting Vail. Sigler said he was free and traveling before his 2013 arrest. “You have to show we intended to delay,” she said. “We did not do that.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Judge Robert Wyatt denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the indictment, along with motions to exclude testimony from the Calcasieu Parish coroner and to bar references to evidence that was lost or destroyed.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A motion to require prosecutors to file written responses to pretrial motions was rendered moot because they’d already been doing so.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Another motion sought to exclude items the state received from the late Isaac Abshire, as well as references to Sharon Hensley and Annette Craver Vail — Felix Vail’s girlfriend and wife. Hensley went missing in 1973; Annette Craver Vail disappeared in 1984. Felix Vail is the last person known to have seen them alive.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Prosecutors said it had already been agreed that the only items from Abshire being used were two pictures of Mary Horton Vail’s body. Wyatt said the photos were in, and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has already ruled that mention of the missing women is allowed.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A motion by prosecutors to quash subpoenas to Sheriff Tony Mancuso and Mike Byrne, his investigations commander, fell by the wayside after the defense agreed to put them on standby.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A motion to introduce the testimonies of Abshire and Robert Fremont and Bruce Biedebach — both of whom would be unavailable during the trial — was granted. But Wyatt asked for documentation on why Biedebach can’t appear.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Prosecutor Hugo Holland said testimony would need to be taken from another witness ahead of time because of medical reasons. Wyatt said he’d allow it if he receives documentation on the medical necessity.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Prosecutors also offered a motion to establish what the three possible verdicts would be: guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter or not guilty. Wyatt said it’ll be resolved before the start of the trial.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The state’s motion to determine admissibility of a grouping of PowerPoint photos was partially granted. Wyatt reserved ruling on a series of photos that depict items found two years ago in Felix and Annette Vail’s former Tulsa, Okla., home. The items were found in a locked room and allegedly belonged to Annette Vail.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Monroe said the defense intends to file a motion for a change of venue “based on events in the last 48 hours.” Wyatt said that when selection begins on Aug. 8 all parties will know if an unbiased jury is possible.</span>

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<p class="p1">Follow Marilyn Monroe on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/MarilynAmPress"><span class="s1">twitter.com/MarilynAmPress</span></a>

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