New trial denied for former state trooper found guilty of sexual abuse, kidnapping
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A motion for a new trial filed by legal counsel for a former state trooper found guilty of sexual abuse and kidnapping was denied Tuesday by a Boone County judge.
Judge Joshua Devine said his decision was due to Jeffery Durbin’s defense counsel filing its motion on April 3, after the Feb. 18 deadline. Following Durbin’s guilty verdict on Jan. 24, 2025, the defense was given 25 days to request a new trial, that included 10 more days than normally given. Devine said Durbin’s lawyer even previously denied the need for a new trial before filing the motion.
A jury found Durbin guilty in January after a woman had accused Durbin of assaulting her and keeping her inside his hotel room. She said it happened after she tried to escape him during a conference on DWI training at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Columbia in March 2023. The woman testified that she and Durbin had been drinking but that she had tried to rebuff his advances.
Durbin claims he suffered prejudice due to juror misconduct. Court documents, referring to the juror as “Venire Person 18,” say that VP-18 did not disclose relevant information that was asked about in the voir dire process. The documents say this missing information made the jury selection process unfair to Durbin.
Durbin Motion for New TrialDownload
VP-18 not only ended up becoming a member of the jury but also the jury’s foreperson. Counsel for Durbin says VP-18 tainted Durbin’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury of his peers.
The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for about three hours following the three-day trial in January.
During jury selection the court, the state and defense counsel all specifically asked questions to the panel of potential jurors about issues related to sexual assault, broadly, and more specifically. Court documents say it was made clear to the panel that due to the sensitive nature of the topic, members always had the option to answer these inquiries in private.
Durbin’s counsel alleges that the court asked if anyone thought, based on those charges alone, that this might not be the right case for some panel members, and multiple members responded, but not VP-18. The state asked if anyone on the panel, or their close friends or family, were ever victims of sexual assault. The state also asked if anyone on the panel, or their close friends or family, were ever accused ofsexual assault. Many members of the panel responded to these inquiries, but VP-18 did not.
The state also inquired whether any panel members had any legal experience. This was one of the onlyquestions documents say VP-18 responded to, saying that she previously was on a mock trial team. She did not indicate any further legal background.
Defense counsel specifically asked the panel if anyone was a member of any victim support group. While most of these questions generated responses from many panel members, the defense says VP-18 did not respond to any of these questions.
VP-18 was selected to be a juror, and Durbin was found guilty by the jury on both counts. Since the verdict, court documents say Durbin became aware of VP-18’s social media accounts. Court documents cite specifically VP-18’s LinkedIn and Facebook accounts that show VP-18 worked for almost three years in various capacities at the Violence Project, an organization aimed at eliminating violence.
VP-18’s personal webpage allegedly shows she worked with this organization to construct their website, “The Off-Ramp Project,” dedicated to training others on violence prevention techniques.
VP-18’s LinkedIn also discloses that she worked as a clerk for a law firm for three years and three months. Finally, the defense claims VP-18’s LinkedIn discloses that she received a certificate for “workplace violence prevention” from the Violence Project.
Durbin’s defense believes these were intentional non-disclosures that warrant a new trial. They claim as the jury’s foreperson, VP-18 was tasked with leading the conversation in the deliberation room and that these past life experiences bled into the deliberation as a result.
Durbin’s new sentencing date is set for 1 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Boone County Courthouse.