Brandon Moore - murder of 23 m.o. Logan Acord - Aug '08
Man's family can attend murder trial Click-2-Listen By SENTINEL STAFF Friday, July 25, 2008 No plea deal has been put on the table for Brandon Moore, a 22-year-old man facing trial in two weeks on a first-degree murder charge in the death of a 23-month-old boy last year. “As far as I’m aware, there are no deals” in the case, said Moore’s attorney, Steve Colvin. Moore faces life in prison without possibility of parole if convicted on the charge of murdering his stepson. A judge, meanwhile, ruled that Moore’s relatives can sit in on the two-week trial. Relatives of Moore and his ex-wife, Stacey Acord, have been subpoenaed to testify, and witnesses normally are prohibited from hearing each others’ testimony. Moore’s relatives can remain in the court, however, under state law allowing relatives of victims to attend hearings, Mesa County District Judge Tom Deister ruled Thursday. Deister has previously ruled that Acord family members can’t attend the trial wearing yellow T-shirts emblazoned with Logan’s photograph. Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger had objected to the presence of Moore’s family during the trial, which begins Aug. 4, but he withdrew his objection. The jury commissioner sent out 500 jury-duty summonses for the trial. Colvin has filed a motion for a change of venue, citing the pervasive coverage of the case. http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/07/25/072608_1b_Moore_hearing.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

500 Juror Candidates Called For Trial Murder Trial To Begin Next Week POSTED: 3:43 pm MDT August 2, 2008 UPDATED: 4:06 pm MDT August 2, 2008 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Up to 500 Mesa County residents have been summoned to serve jury duty for a trial of a Grand Junction man accused of killing his infant stepson. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported the trial of Brandon Moore will start next week. District Attorney Jon Levin said the high number of summons is because of the large media attention of the case. The murder trial of Michael Blagg in 2004 and the attempted-murder trial of Samuel Lincoln in 2007 required a similar number of summons, he said. Both cases were widely reported by the local news media. Moore is accused of killing in his 23-month-old stepson, Logan Acord. Court officials said that usually about half of the people summoned appear for jury duty. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17074456/detail.html

Stepdad charged with murder in death of Mesa Co. toddler Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News Thursday, July 19, 2007 A Mesa County man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his stepson, who would have turned 2 today. Logan Acord’s stepfather, Brandon Scott Moore, 21, of Clifton, was arrested about 10 last night, according to Heather Gierhart, a spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. Police suspect the boy died from injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to a search warrant affidavit. The child arrived at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction late Monday with severe bleeding on his brain. Doctors there contacted authorities. A court document says the boy arrived at the emergency room with severe bleeding and swelling of the brain. Medical staff told authorities special medical equipment is typically needed to see a retinal hemorrhage but in the case of Logan, it was so severe they could see it without the equipment, the court document said. Logan had black and blue bruising on Logan’s right cheek. Moore told authorities Logan had fallen from the bathtub and that he slapped and bit the boy to keep him alert. Doctors who treated Logan are saying the boy’s injuries could not have resulted from a fall from a bathtub. They also said authorities and the Department of Human Services searched the home of Logan’s parents. They found what appeared to be blood on a pillowcase in the boy’s room and another spot that appeared to be blood on the toilet seat, according to the document. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident as possible child abuse, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Logan died at 8 p.m. Tuesday of "possible injuries sustained by suspected child abuse," a statement said. The Mesa County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5636035,00.html