Judge moves murder trial of Williamsburg man to Linn County

MARENGO — A judge last week granted a request to move a trial from Iowa County to Linn County for a Williamsburg man accused of killing his girlfriend's child, based on pretrial publicity and noting social media posts showed 'strong opinions' as to prejudice.     

Cody Stevenson, 29, is charged with first-degree murder. A criminal complaint shows Stevenson hit the child, who was in his care, 'at least 3 to 4 times' in the abdominal area with a closed fist on June 30. The child died from the injuries July 3.

Neither the age nor name of the child has been released by police or included in court documents.

Court records also show Stevenson has been ordered to not have contact with another minor child.

In his ruling, 6th Judicial District Judge Christopher Bruns cited news articles which imply Stevenson is guilty and others indicating that he confessed to the crime, along with several social media comments, as the basis for moving the trial out of Iowa County. Bruns said the comments provided by the defense are likely 'only the tip of the iceberg and that information as to this case has pervaded Iowa County.'

Bruns also cited the statistical research provided by the defense at a hearing earlier this month, which he also considered in making the ruling. A freelance researcher conducted phone surveys to gauge knowledge of the case and possible prejudice in the county. She found 12 of 28 residents had formed an opinion of the case, he pointed out.              

She conducted the same survey in Linn County and found only one out of 25 were aware of the case, even though Iowa and Linn counties are in the same media market, Bruns said in the ruling.

Bruns said contrasting the two surveys show that bias already exists in Iowa County, and that his concerns about social media comments are valid. The case received nearly the same news coverage in Linn County, but Iowa County newspapers covered this story and those would not be read in Linn County. The surveys showed Linn residents don't recall hearing about this case, he said.

'This convinces the court that while a fair and impartial trial could easily be preserved in Linn County, the same is not true of Iowa County,' Bruns said in his ruling.  

Stevenson, who has pleaded not guilty, remains in jail under a $1 million bond pending trial. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.

His trial is set for May 7 in Linn County District Court.  

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