PROVO, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Utah County doctor Martin MacNeill is accused of giving his 50-year-old wife Michele MacNeill a deadly mixture of prescription drugs. This week, during a 5-day preliminary hearing, prosecutors are hoping to prove they have enough evidence to go to trial.
As hard as it may be for the MacNeill daughters to relive their mother's death, Wednesday they were back in court. Prosecutors are asking them to testify that their father is a killer.
"We're just going to run through each of the witnesses necessary to establish probable cause," said Sam Pead, Deputy Utah Co. Attorney.
Back in 2007, Michelle MacNeill was found unconscious in her bathtub at the family’s home in Pleasant Grove. An initial autopsy report said she died of natural causes. But now prosecutors said they can prove Doctor MacNeill intentionally poisoned his wife with prescription pills. Something his defense attorneys claim is simply not true.
"He's denying the allegations that he murdered his wife, he's always maintained she died tragically and accidentally in the bathtub," said Susanne Gustine, MacNeill Defense Attorney.
Over the next week, prosecutors plan to show it was no accident. But so far they won't say how.
"We're not going to talk so much about what's presented in court until that's done," said Pead.
Here's what we do know – this week the MacNeill daughters will take the stand as well as people who were witnesses at the scene, and doctors.
People interested in the case will have to wait about a week to see if the judge decides if there's enough evidence to go to trial. If not -- the case could be dismissed.
