GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A March 10 trial date was set Friday in connection with a homicide at a west-side home.
Owen Backus, 45, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the Dec. 9 murder of Michael Hubbard, 30, at a Western Avenue home.
In court Friday, the attorneys discussed the need for hearings to assess the qualifications of expert witnesses before they would be allowed to testify at trial. The issue will be reviewed at a Dec. 9 hearing.
That hearing will also review the Backus’ self-defense claim. Criminal defendants intending to argue self-defense must tell the prosecution ahead of trial which of the victim’s past violent acts informed their decision to use force so that the court can make a pretrial determination of its relevance and admissibility.
A week-long trial is planned.
According to the criminal complaint, Backus returned home and found Hubbard in the residence. Backus and Hubbard argued about Hubbard rearranging the house, taking things off the walls, and painting. Backus took a shower, and while there, he was attacked by Hubbard with a wrench, and the two began to fight. Hubbard was hit in the head with a glass pitcher, hog-tied, then choked with a cable.
“Backus indicated his actions were in self-defense, he did not want to kill anyone, and he was protecting his home,” the complaint states.
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