The Vermont Supreme Court is set to decide whether the case against Deven Moffitt, accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, has been too mishandled to see trial.
For over a year, Moffitt’s lawyer has tried to get the case tossed out for good — claiming the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence to take Moffitt to court.
Earlier this week, on July 20, Vermont Superior Court Judge Kerry McDonald-Cady ruled to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning Moffitt can’t be tried on those charges again. An appeal of that decision will bring the dispute to the state Supreme Court.
Moffitt’s lawyer alleged the prosecution made missteps properly confirming the identity of the human remains in the case. The state medical examiner’s office originally identified the remains as belonging to Jessica Hildenbrandt before Moffitt was charged with her murder in the second degree back in 2022.
But, in the years since, the prosecution failed to run more tests to confirm the original identification of the remains.
“The state had more than two years to test the discovered remains and obtain additional DNA evidence for trial to confirm they were, in fact, the remains of Ms. Hildenbrandt,” wrote McDonald-Cady in the July 20 ruling.
Back in January, prosecutors asked the judge to formally dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning they could refile the charge at a later date. In response, Moffitt’s lawyer motioned to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it could never be brought to court again.
Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi argued against that motion. He explained that his office plans to press other criminal charges against Moffitt, and it would be most convenient to resolve them all in one trial, according to the ruling.
That didn’t convince the judge. Over years, the state’s attorney’s office tried to press a number of additional charges against Moffitt, namely an alleged aggravated assault and multiple counts of obstruction of justice, court documents show.
But on each count, the Bennington state’s attorney’s office had either failed to press charges swiftly enough, or the crime was committed in another county, putting it out of Bennington’s jurisdiction, McDonald-Cady wrote.
Unconvinced by Bianchi’s arguments, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, attempting to put the charge to rest for good.
“This Court recognizes the gravity of this decision for the State, the Defendant, the community, and especially the family and friends of Ms. Hildenbrandt,” wrote McDonald-Cady in her ruling.
While permanently tossing the case out was an “extraordinary remedy,” she reasoned the prosecution had overstepped by drawing out the case, according to the ruling.
Later this week, on July 23, Bianchi appealed McDonald-Cady’s ruling to the Vermont Supreme Court. There, justices can decide if Moffitt may be tried again for the same crime.
Moffitt is still serving a 12 and a half year sentence for federal drug and firearm charges.
Corrections: An earlier version of this story contained errors related to the date of the ruling and who was serving time in federal prison. It also incorrectly named Jessica Hildenbrandt.
