Trudy Appleby case: Man charged with her murder wants trial moved
Public defenders filed a motion saying the case has drawn significant public attention
CAMBRIDGE, Illinois (KWQC) - The man charged with murder in the death of Trudy Appleby wants his trial moved.
Public defenders filed a motion Tuesday seeking a change of venue.
Jamison Fisher was charged in August, an arrest nearly three decades after Appleby disappeared.
Police say he killed the 11-year-old in 1996 because her father owed him a drug debt.
The case haunted the Quad-Cities for nearly three decades. Vigils were held every anniversary. Billboards posted over the years asked for new tips. Police never stopped searching.
Media covered the case extensively, and Appleby’s face became one of the most recognizable in the Quad-Cities.
According to Fisher’s lawyers, there have been at least 183 local television and newspaper stories since her disappearance.
KWQC has continued to report on the case, including an exclusive jailhouse interview with Fisher in November, during which he maintained his innocence.
Fisher’s lawyers say that’s enough to warrant a trial outside the Quad-Cities area.
They’ve asked for the trial to be moved to McLean, Winnebago or Champaign counties.
Meanwhile, motions filed Friday named potential witnesses for the prosecution. They include people associated with Fisher through drugs and former girlfriends who will testify that Fisher admitted his involvement in Appleby’s death.
One witness will testify to seeing Fisher; a man who has since died; and another man “passing” her around for “sexual gratification” near a bridge in Colona the day she disappeared. Another witness will testify that after the arrest, he asked Fisher’s girlfriend to find out if he should move the “buried treasure.”
KWQC is not naming the witnesses because none have been charged with crimes in connection with Appleby’s death.
Though Appleby was last spotted in Moline, the case was filed in Henry County because it is the location where prosecutors say she was killed.
Her remains have never been found.
Fisher is next due in court on Feb. 27.
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