Jury trial scheduled in case of highway worker death
An 8-day jury trial has been scheduled for April 2023 in the case of a rural Neillsville man accused of causing a traffic crash in August 2021 that killed a Clark County Highway Department employee and injured another. Meanwhile, the attorney for defendant Cory Neumueller is asking the court for a change of trial venue due to publicity and the victims’ connections with Clark County employees.
Neumueller, 29, was the driver of a pickup truck on Aug. 8, 2021 that struck a tree that had fallen across County Road G two miles south of Willard. The crash occurred about 1 a.m. as county highway workers Russell Opelt, 57, and David Murphy, 60, were working to remove the tree from the roadway. Neumueller’s vehicle struck the tree, killing Opelt and injuring Murphy to the extent he required a partial leg amputation.
Neumueller was charged nine days later with eight felonies, including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, hit-and-run involving death, hit-and-run involving great bodily harm and second-degree reckless homicide. He posted a $25,000 cash bond on Aug. 17 and has not been in custody since then.
Court records show that Neumueller’s blood alcohol concentration was measured at .124 percent following the crash. The state’s legal limit of intoxication is .08 percent. Furthermore, prosecutors allege that Neumueller left the scene of the crash after helping Murphy call 911 for help, and walked to a nearby home. At the home, he allegedly drank several glasses of water, but did not tell the homeowner about the incident on the road nor that there were injured people at the scene.
A preliminary hearing in the case was held on Oct. 20, with Judge Daniel Diehn ruling sufficient evidence exists against Neumueller to continue the criminal case against him. On May 12, Diehn set a jury trial start date of April 12, 2023, with eight days reserved on the court calendar for the case to be presented.
On May 10, Eau Claire attorney Harry Hertel filed a change of venue motion with the court. The motion asks Diehn to move the trial to a neutral location, “based upon a belief that the defendant would not be able to receive a fair trial in Clark County.”
Hertel wrote, “This is due to significant publicity having occurred and public sentiment expressed in written and other forms both through the internet and otherwise by individuals seeking to have the defendant be severely punished, without there having been a trial taking place or all facts known to the public. It is also based upon the significant family relations within the county to the Opelt and Murphy families, including certain individuals within court personnel and who otherwise might have contact with jurors in the event a trial were to take place.”
Diehn scheduled an Aug. 12 hearing to hear arguments regarding the request for change of venue.
State assistant attorney general Tara Marie Jenswold is prosecuting the case.
Diehn, of Jackson County, was assigned to the case after Clark County Circuit Court Judge Lyndsey Brunette removed herself due to a potential conflict of interest.
