Attorney General Jon Bruning

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Contact: Holley Hatt

                                 October 16, 2007, 4:00pm CDT                                    402.471.2067

Court Denies Lotter’s Motion for New Trial

(Lincoln, NE) Attorney General Jon Bruning today announced the Richardson County District Court has denied convicted murderer John Lotter’s motion for a new trial and his request for a new sentencing hearing.

The Attorney General’s office opposed the motion when Lotter’s accomplice, Tom Nissen, changed his story regarding the 1993 deaths of Teena Brandon of Lincoln, Lisa Lambert of Humboldt and Philip DeVine of Fairfield, Iowa.

“The latest version of Mr. Nissen’s story clears no one,” Bruning said. “The fact remains that both men planned and carried out one of the most brutal murders in Nebraska history. They deserve their punishment.”

In a court hearing today, the State argued that Mr. Lotter was procedurally barred from requesting a new trial. Under Nebraska law, requests for new trials based on the discovery of new evidence must be brought within three years of the conviction date. The State further argued that the Nebraska Supreme Court has consistently held that the recantation of a trial witness does not qualify as “newly discovered evidence” in a motion for a new trial.

“I appreciate the court’s prompt attention,” Bruning added. “Each appeal and legal challenge reopens the wounds the victims’ families felt that night in 1993.”

Deputy Richardson County Attorney Robert Meyer and the Attorney General’s Criminal Bureau Chief John Freudenberg handled the case.

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An audio clip about the ruling is posted on the Attorney General’s Web site at www.ago.state.ne.us.