Jury selection underway for Cedar Rapids man charged in Chris Bagley slaying

CEDAR RAPIDS — Nearly three years later, the man accused of killing 31-year-old Chris Bagley in 2018 will stand trial this week in Linn County District Court.

Drew Blahnik, 34, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally stabbing Bagley, of Walker, on Dec. 15, 2018, because Bagley had robbed their drug dealer of drugs and money.

Blahnik has pleaded not guilty and plans to claim self-defense or defense of another during trial.

Potential jurors filled out questionnaires Tuesday, and jury selection started Wednesday.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Christopher Bruns is bringing in seven potential jurors every 40 minutes for questioning by the judge, defense and prosecution.

Face masks are optional at the courthouse for those who’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, but judges are using discretion on social distancing.

Bagley’s slaying has been highly publicized, so questioning jurors in small groups is intended to prevent those who are biased or who can’t remain impartial from serving on the jury.

Given the case’s high profile, jury selection may take longer than usual. Prosecutors were hoping to begin the trial Thursday afternoon, but that may not happen until Friday. The trial is expected to last more than two weeks.

Blahnik’s trial has been delayed several times because of the pandemic and scheduling difficulties. Also, defense attorneys have asked for a few continuances in order to gather more evidence.

Fatal stabbing

Bagley, a husband and father of two, left his Walker home after 9 p.m. Dec. 13, 2018 with a woman his wife didn’t know. He left his wallet and truck behind but told his wife, Courtney, he would be back shortly. She reported him missing four days later.

Bagley’s wife, parents and siblings never heard from him again. Bagley’s body was excavated from the frozen ground March 1, 2019, where one of men, who was later charged in his slaying, lived at the time.

No information about the suspected killers and what happened after Bagley left his home was revealed until a February 2020 hearing in federal court for a man, Andrew Shaw, accused of being a large-scale marijuana trafficker in Cedar Rapids.

Investigators said Shaw was a drug dealer for Bagley, Blahnik and Drew Wagner, 35, and that Bagley was killed because of the drug and money robberies he committed against Shaw.

Blahnik and Wagner confronted Bagley about the drug robberies Dec. 15, 2018, at a mobile home in Cedar Rapids. The three men got into a physical fight, and Bagley was fatally stabbed.

A search warrant from March 2019 obtained by The Gazette last year after it was unsealed indicated why prosecutors asked a grand jury to review the case before charging Blahnik, Wagner and Paul Hoff, who lived at the mobile home, about seven months after the body was found.

Blahnik and Wagner, described in the search warrant as holding down Bagley and stabbing him, were charged last year with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of prosecution.

Hoff, 42, of Cedar Rapids, who lived in a trailer where authorities say the killing happened, is charged with abuse of a corpse and obstruction of prosecution.

Each of the three men told different versions of the fight and stabbing, according to the search warrant.

Wagner pleaded last summer to amended charges of voluntary manslaughter, assault while participating in a felony, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of prosecution in Bagley's death.

Wagner faces up to 37 years in prison. He will testify against Blahnik, and his sentencing is set for Aug. 6.

During Wagner’s plea hearing, he admitted to starting a fight with Bagley for robbing their drug dealer, Shaw. Wagner said he held Bagley down while Blahnik repeatedly stabbed him.

Wagner also said he and Blahnik buried Bagley in the yard of a southeast Cedar Rapids home where Wagner was living at the time.

Hoff, according to court documents, also has a plea agreement, but it hasn’t been made public. He also will testify against Blahnik and already is serving a 14 year federal prison sentence for firearms and drugs violations.

Blahnik, during a police interview, said he and Wagner went to Hoff's that night to get methamphetamine, according to the search warrant.

He said Wagner and Bagley got into an argument, possibly over a gun that one bought from the other and owed money on. Blahnik said Wagner was trying to give Bagley a 'chance out” of the dispute, but Bagley pushed him and a fight started.

Blahnik told investigators Wagner then yelled “gun, gun,” as Bagley was reaching toward his back pocket. He said he “protected” Wagner by stabbing Bagley.

Federal investigators said last year Hoff had told them there wasn't a gun.

Follow reporter Trish Mehaffey’s live tweets from the courtroom starting Friday.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com