HLN is running some same day feeds of a murder trial in Utah where a husband is accused of killing his wife so that he could move the mistress in. It’s pretty interesting so I will start investigating it this weekend and try to make sense of this very messy trial. There is a lot of conflicting testimony so far. Today was day two of the long-awaited trial and neighbors who were called on to help testified today. But before we get to testimony. Let’s look at the major players.
The Victim Michele MacNeill
Michele MacNeill was found dead in her bathtub at her Pleasant Grove home on April 11, 2007 by her six-year-old daughter, Ada. (Spoiler alert, as it turns out Ada is actually their granddaughter. Ada’s biological mother is Vanessa but the family pretended Ada was Martin and Michele’s child.) Ada said her mother was on her back in a shallow pool of red water, her entire body was in the tub, and her eyes were open and her hair was going down the drain and her head was at the faucet end of the tub. No one takes a bath with their head toward the faucet. Martin has described finding her slumped over the edge of the tub head first sort of half in and half out. However he also said he could not get her out of the tub.
Michele had turned 50 in 2007 and Martin was pressuring her to get a face lift. She was very pretty and did not need a face lift at all, but she relented to Martin’s pressure hoping it would help to improve their relationship. She was very concerned that Martin was having an affair. Michele told one of her older daughters that if anything happened to her, to be sure it was not Martin who was responsible. The daughter also looked into her father’s phone bills for evidence of cheating. The phone records showed Martin was having extensive contact with Jillian Gypsy Willis. Michele confronted him about her suspicions and he lied. More on old Gypsy later.
She got a full facelift plus both lower and upper eyelids done. Because of the eyelids, her eyes were bandaged closed. This meant she had no idea what medication she was being handed. It was a nine hour surgery. After the surgery, Martin wanted to take her straight home rather than her receiving the customary overnight hospital stay with round the clock nursing assistance.
From HLN.com :
At the pre-op consultation before surgery, Martin allegedly gave the surgeon a list of drugs that he wanted his wife to have after the operation. The surgeon prescribed Lortab, Ambien, Valium, Percocet, Phenergen and Keflex. During a preliminary hearing, the surgeon testified that he did not normally give Percocet and Valium with the other drugs, but because MacNeill was a physician, he did so at his request. The doctor told investigators he had never prescribed that combination of drugs to a patient and would not have in this case had it not been for the recommendation of Martin MacNeill. He said he did so only on the condition that MacNeill monitor the administration of the substances as a physician.
Three medical examiners tested Michele MacNeill’s body, two paid by the state and one hired by the defense. Although none of the drugs in her system: Diazepam (valium) , Oxycodone (Percocet), Promethazine (Phenergan)and Zolpidem (Ambien) were individually at dangerous levels, the Utah state medical examiner ruled that the combination could have caused cardiac arrest. Far be it from me to disagree with a Utah medical examiner but, Phenergen and Ambien interact to cause kookoo crazy drunkenness plus a little side of valium and Percocet and she was doped up!
Prosecutors say the evidence shows that her husband used the surgery and recovery period to “obtain the necessary drugs and set in motion the circumstances to intentionally or knowingly cause Michele’s death and conceal his involvement.”
This is the clearest writing I could find on the “three autopsies” where the cause of death varies from “natural causes” to “a heart event” to “drug interactions.” To be honest each writing I have read has been slightly different. This appears to be the best source. It’s from the preliminary hearing.
From Pat Reavy of Desert News :
Spencer and fellow defense attorney Susanne Gustin noted that the original autopsy on Michele MacNeill in 2007 was conducted by an assistant medical examiner who has since died. That autopsy concluded that MacNeill died of heart disease and concluded the “circumstances (were) not suspicious.” Grey essentially agreed with her findings in 2008 before reviewing it and changing his opinion in 2010.
Dr. David Cragun, an interventional cardiologist at the Central Utah Clinic in Provo, was also asked to review the initial autopsy. He concluded it was “very unlikely” that myocarditis (heart disease) led to her death.
While Grey said it’s not common for a medical examiner to change their opinion on a death, it’s not unusual. He referred to a high-profile murder in Salt Lake City some years ago where that occurred. In the MacNeill case, he said he looked at the “totality of drugs in her system.”
“There was a potential that this mix of drugs could lead to potentially lethal effects or sedated effects,” he said. “It’s possible that this individual may have been coerced or forced to take medications that she might not otherwise.”
Post-mortem toxicology analysis of MacNeill showed there were four powerful prescription medications in her system — Valium, oxycodone, Phenergan and Ambien. A pharmacology/toxicology expert testified that there was little chance that MacNeill would have been alert with the dangerous quadruple combination of prescription meds found in her system at the time of her death.
“You have a tank that’s nearly 3/4 full, 7/8 full, and you drop (Zolpidem) in, it’s very surprising anyone could maintain a level of alertness with that in their system,” Dr. Gary Dawson said. “That would be the fourth piece that dropped in on the top brick.”
But what may have been most surprising, he said, was that she had such a high level of the potent sleeping drug, typically sold under the brand name Ambien, in her system at midday.
If MacNeill had taken the sleeping agent the night before at the customary bed time, there shouldn’t have been any left in her system by the time her body was found, he said. A more likely scenario was the drug was administered within two hours of when she was found.
There is also a lot of testimony from witnesses today about what Michele was or was not wearing when she was found. The six-year-old said her mother was fully dressed in the bathtub wearing a long black shirt and pants. The neighbors say she was nude from the waist down and wearing a white undershirt with no bra. One witness said he picked up the clothing from the floor and took it to the laundry room, but later said he was not sure. Who takes a bath, stoned on multiple drugs in their clothes?
That’s enough for now. Martin’s back story of lies and deceit will be next. You will not believe the skeletons in his closet.
Oh great, more Mormons killing each other…
giggles
Dammit, why did I read this, you’ve got me hooked now! I’d been trying to avoid it, but now want this guy to meet Bubba in da big house. THANKS TAMARA!!! lol (seriously, thanks for the info & I’ll be waiting for more…)
Oh honey. Wait til you read about MARTIN. He apparently killed his brother much the same way. ruled a suicide. so much more to tell….
PROVO — A judge has ordered prosecutors to not refer to Michele MacNeill as a “victim” in her husband’s upcoming murder trial.
The ruling by 4th District Court Judge Derek Pullan came at the end of a long day of arguments over motions in the high-profile murder case of Dr. Martin MacNeill. The judge granted a defense motion limiting prosecutors’ remarks in opening and closing statements, including the use of the word “victim.”
Judge Pullan also instructed prosecutors to tell police officers they are not allowed to refer to Michele MacNeill as a “victim” in their testimony, as it makes the presumption that she was murdered (the jury must determine that).
jeez, isn’t that the job of the medical examiner (to determine homicide or not — i do understand there are multiple autopsy reports)? horrific story.
The autopsy reports are so wild. I want to see the actual ones. It’s a mess.
yeah..he is another that was smarter than the system. If it wasnt for the older daughter he might have gotten away with it. How about hooking him up with jodi for some LONG term accomodations.
and cant forget to add he hung up on 911 saying he was doing CPR..in the tub where you cant lay them flat to do CPR effectively.
And it was a deep-dish tub according to Nancy Grace.
Anxious to hear the dirt on him. I learned of this case from the first Nancy Grace show I have watched in months. She left out that was a grandchild that found her in tub, more likely she didn’t know it. She told about him wanting to send 4 adopted girls back to Russia. This guy is guilty in my book. I am jumping to conclusions. I hope jury agrees.
Completely and utterly hooked now! I won’t be able to watch much of it, so I’ll be looking forward to your posts about this case TT!
Today’s testimony included a statement that Martin wanted to kill his “drug addicted” daughter Vanessa because he perceived her as an embarrassment to the family. Who knows how many people this guy has killed. He was paid $3000 a month due to a military medical discharge based on a claim of schizophrenia. How was he allowed to obtain a medical license, and practice law. This guy weaves in a very tangled web.
Yes it seems Ada is actually Vanessa’s child. She was the one he wanted to kill for being on drugs. OR SO HE SAYS. He’s a fucking liar. He got his “medical degree” in Guadalhara but I am not sure he ever really practiced.
Hi TT & Everyone,
Lately whenever I turn on HLN I only see talk shows about raising kids. Nice shows but I miss the old “Court TV”. TT, thank you for this thorough write up! I hadn’t even heard of this case. Poor little girl – only 6 years old – finding ANYone dead. Lifelong memory. Hopefully she’ll block it. 🙁
So he’s a liar face?!?
Sorry couldn’t help myself
okay TT- props to u for best title ever! Seriously u are a wordsmith my friend! Love it!
I can’t get past the toe. What person wouldn’t save the one they love because of a hurt toe? NO ONE!!! So what if his toe was freaking falling off! People lift cars to save their loved ones underneath for goodness sake! It is almost getting comical how the defense is using this as some excuse.
OH WOW! Remember when I told you his only son was the one who got rid of the pills at his father’s request and later killed himself? (he was the only sibling that didn’t believe his father killed his mother BTW and Martin was supposedly as devastated as a sociopath can be. Well I was thinking how convenient yet another suicide connected to Martin was and how now the son could not testify. Well now his girlfriend who was there the whole time is testifying. YAY. And she is a lawyer so she seems very credible.
Sorry I am a bit behind,.me and Banjo ran out to pick wild flowers. 🙂
I think the son might have been trying to fight the notion his father as was as evil as he was. It’s just sad that the boy had to live in the shadow of such a toxic parent. I imagine the guilt and shame of living underneath that sort of father and perhaps not being able to fully grasp what level a psychopath goes to has this tragic ending for some people. I wish he had stuck around to get proper help after his mother died. Very sad case.
I read some where that he faked his transcripts to get into law school and medical school. Love the title!