AMERICAN FORK – The man accused of killing his girlfriend and her son is one step closer to a possible death penalty case against him. This is making the process of getting an attorney slightly slower for him.
Even though the bodies of Emily Almiron and her son, Gabriel, were never found, Prosecutor Sam Pead says they have so much other evidence, the defense will need an external hard drive to handle it all. “All of that, especially in the digital age, gets bigger and bigger. So, when you have that much investigation going into a case, there’s a fair amount of evidence,” Pead says, adding they have investigative reports, pictures, and other forensic evidence.
Judge Robert Lumen agreed that Poulson qualified for a public defender, but, since this is a possible death penalty case, not any public defender will do. Pead says, “The statute requires a certain level of experience for handling a case like this.”
Pead admits the lack of bodies is a hurdle they have to clear, but, they feel they still have enough evidence to prove the Almiron and her son were murdered. “You can do that with bodies and there are also ways to infer that without bodies. Is it a challenge? Yes, but, that’s what we have to do in this case,” he says.
A status hearing was scheduled for December 19th.