Father's trial delayed as attorneys seek expert who can help them show another man killed his children in Kaukauna
APPLETON – The homicide trial of Matthew Beyer, who is charged with killing his two children in 2020, will be pushed back from a September start date to Dec. 1.
Beyer, 38, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the deaths of 5-year-old William Beyer and 3-year-old Danielle Beyer, who were found dead in their Kaukauna home Feb. 17, 2020.
Outagamie County Judge Mark McGinnis granted a motion for continuance in court Thursday afternoon. He rescheduled the jury trial, which was set to begin Sept. 6, to Dec. 1-16.
In court, McGinnis expressed his opposition to pushing the trial back, but acknowledged that both the prosecution and defense attorneys desired more time before going to trial.
"I'm opposed to it for a lot of reasons ... yet I think it's the decision of both parties that it be continued," McGinnis said.
McGinnis said he took issues with discovery — the process of prosecution and defense sharing information about evidence — being done after deadline, as well as the amount of time the defense is taking to find an expert for the blood analysis tool STRmix, which attorneys plan to use as evidence in the trial.
STRmix is a DNA testing software that can identify four-person mixtures, as opposed to three-person mixtures, Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis explained at an Aug. 8 hearing.
Defense attorney Amanda Skorr has been seeking an expert to assist with explaining and understanding the new tool, which she says may potentially find proof that someone else's DNA was at the scene of the crime. Skorr said the defense was provided new DNA evidence reports earlier this year, according to court records.
At trial, the defense plans to argue that a different man committed the crimes — someone who, according to a motion Skorr submitted in June, "recently professed his love for the victims' mother and she did not reciprocate his feelings."
The defense had previously secured an expert who initially agreed to work with them, but after providing him with DNA evidence reports, the expert "decided that the reports are not within his area of expertise to assist defense with this case," and withdrew, according to a motion for continuance submitted by Skorr July 28, in which she requested the court reschedule the trial.
Since then, the defense has been looking all over the country for an expert well-versed in the STRmix data analysis to assist them, Skorr said in court Thursday.
Skorr said she spoke with two experts Thursday morning who may potentially be of assistance. However, Skorr told the court, she cannot guarantee she will have experts ready for a Dec. 1 trial.
Beyer also entered pleas for two charges related to a June 2020 attempted escape from jail at Thursday's pretrial conference. The charges were separated from the two homicide charges at a hearing Aug. 8, when McGinnis granted a severance motion.
Beyer pleaded no contest to charges of taking hostages and releasing without causing bodily harm, and attempting to escape from jail. A no-contest plea means Beyer will be found guilty of the charges and not go to trial.
The attempted escape was caught on surveillance video, which both the prosecution and defense claimed they have seen. In court, Beyer confirmed his role in the attempted escape from jail, which involved taking a hostage. He conspired during the escape with another inmate, Demetrius Williams, who in 2021 was convicted of killing a 3-year-old girl and injuring her pregnant mother and sentenced to life in prison.
McGinnis scheduled a sentencing hearing for the counts of taking hostages and attempting to escape from jail at 10 a.m. Oct. 24. Both charges are felonies; Beyer faces up to 40 years in prison for taking a hostage, and up to three years in prison for the attempted escape.
Beyer is scheduled to next appear in court again Sept. 6 for a status conference.
RELATED: Judge rejects request for new attorney by father charged in deaths of two children in Kaukauna
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Kaukauna murder trial of Matthew Beyer delayed in children's deaths
