Michelle Kehoe murder trial moved to Grundy County

The murder trial of Michelle Kehoe will be transferred to Grundy County next month, according to an order filed today in Buchanan County District Court.

First Judicial District Judge Bruce Zager granted the defense's motion for a venue change out of Buchanan County based on “extensive” pretrial publicity. The trial remains set for Oct. 28.

Kehoe, 35, of Coralville, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. She is accused of killing her son Seth, 2, by cutting his neck, and attempting to kill her other son Sean, 7, on Oct. 26, near Littleton.

The defense asked for a venue change based upon pretrial publicity and Zager conducted a mock jury selection about two weeks ago to determine if Kehoe could receive a fair trial.

About 50 percent of individuals completing the mock jury questionaire already had a fixed opinion about the case that they couldn't be impartial to Kehoe, Zager wrote in his ruling. There were also a substantial number of mock jurors who were also not sure if they could be fair.

Zager said he granted the venue change based on the “extensive” pretrial publicity because “there is such a degree of prejudice that exists in Buchanan County” and a liklihood that a fair a impartial jury couldn't be seated.