In a unanimous decision, the Montana State Supreme Court has denied convicted serial rapist Toby Eugene Griego’s appeal, but not before the justices admonished police about an investigative practice. The 5-0 Supreme Court decision stated that pretrial publicity did not infringe upon Griego’s opportunity for a fair trial trial.

 

Griego of Billings was tried in Yellowstone County Court and sentenced to serve 22 consecutive life sentences on 27 counts related to the rape of three women and the attempted rape of a fourth.  The rapes involved home invasions.  Griego told the court that his trial should have been moved to a different county to avoid local prejudice stirred by Billings Gazette coverage, including articles that suggested safety tips for women in the weeks before Griego’s capture.  While the justices threw that out, they questioned police use of a recording of his voice to get a victim to identify him.

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