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April 28, 2012

Judge declines to seal pre-trial files in mysterious case

By Dan Nienaber Free Press Staff Writer

GAYLORD — Investigators are already saying little about what prompted murder charges against a woman accused of killing her newborn child more than a decade ago.

If Amy Ann Romero’s attorney would have gotten his way during a motion hearing last week, the public would have little chance of knowing any more about the alleged murder near Henderson until the case goes to trial in September.

Romero, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in Sibley County then arrested in Milan, Mo., in January. She is accused of giving birth to a daughter at her former residence near Henderson on April 28, 2001, then leaving the baby in a wooded area to die. Authorities have not said why it took so long for the charges to be filed, how they learned about the alleged murder or whether they have found any remains.

A grand jury was called in January to determine if there was probable cause to charge Romero, whose most recent address was in Breckenridge, Mo. Grand jury proceedings are secret, so prosecutors have not disclosed what evidence led to the indictment. Her trial for charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter is scheduled to start Sept. 11.

More information about what led to the charges could come out as her attorney, Anthony Nerud, files pre-trial motions. Nerud attempted to stop that from happening Thursday by asking District Court Judge Thomas McCarthy to seal Romero’s court file. Allowing public access to the file could lead to media coverage that would keep Romero from getting a fair trial in the county, which has a population of about 16,000, Nerud argued.

“The electronic and traditional media have brought coverage which penetrates the entire populous of this small county,” Nerud’s written motion said. “Certainly reports of Ms. Romero’s alleged criminal conduct disseminated to the Sibley County public would seriously raise the risk of contaminating the jury pool.”

Sibley County Attorney David Schauer joined Nerud in filing another motion a few days earlier that would have sealed specific documents in the file. Those documents identify three Missouri women and request that judges there back up Sibley County court orders for the women to appear as witnesses at Romero’s trial.

One of the women has a Breckenridge address. The two other women live in Missouri towns near Breckenridge.

Both attorneys argued that revealing the identity of the witnesses could result in media requests for interviews, which would result in information about the case being revealed to Sibley County residents. That would jeopardize a fair trial, the attorneys argued.

In both cases, media attorney Mark Anfinson appeared by telephone to argue that the information shouldn’t be kept secret. He was representing KSTP, the Twin Cities ABC news affiliate.

Anfinson argued that murder cases draw broad public interest. He also said the Nerud and Schauer were assuming the witnesses would even talk to the media and, if they did, what they said would by harmful to Romero’s case.

McCarthy denied both motions, saying there was no evidence that media coverage of the case would keep the attorneys from finding unbiased jurors for the September trial.

Romero, formerly known as Amy Aune, has not been released from jail. The newborn she is accused of killing is identified as Ava Juanita Aune in court documents.

At the time the child was allegedly born, Romero was living at a residence west of Henderson off Sibley County Road 8, according to court records. It is next to a heavily wooded area.

She moved to a residence near Le Sueur within a few months after the baby was allegedly born. Romero also lived in St. Peter before moving to Missouri.

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