Judge will move Dustin Jefferson's third retrial out of Tama County

TOLEDO — A judge Friday said she will move the third retrial of Dustin Jefferson, charged with killing his wife in 2013, out of Tama County, but hasn't determined to which county it will be moved.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Mary Chicchelly said she would try to keep the trial close to Tama County, as requested by the state out of concern for witnesses, and would check with Jasper and Powershiek counties, as requested by the defense, to see if either county could accommodate a murder trial.

Tom Gaul, Jefferson's lawyer, said he also wanted the trial to be in February, if possible, and wasn't asking Chicchelly to base the move on whether there was representation of Native Americans in the jury pool, as he argued in the first mistrial.

Chicchelly said she wasn't going to check all 99 counties but would consult with court officials in the two counties Gaul requested. She added that she would try for a February date, but said the move would be up to her discretion, based on availability and security concerns.

Jefferson, 40, charged with aiding and abetting in first-degree murder, asked the court to move the retrial based on a limited jury pool because Jefferson's mother Ginger was also tried and convicted of Kerry O'Clair Jefferson's murder in Tama County, and this will be his third trial. He also argued there had been extensive 'prejudicial' news coverage by The Gazette and Waterloo Courier about the last mistrial in October, detailing the jury deadlocked at 11 to 1 in favor of guilty, and the fact that Jefferson also faces sexual abuse charges in another case.

Jefferson included several articles from area newspapers covering the trial with his motion for change of venue.

Ginger Jefferson, 59, was convicted in 2014 of first-degree murder. According to testimony in her trial, she stabbed Kerry twice in the neck. Kerry, 32, died from two fatal wounds to the neck and also suffered blunt force injuries to her face and head.