A Chittenden County murder trial that was set to start next week, in which a son was expected to testify against his mother, has been put off at least until early next year.
Angela Auclair, 50, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include aiding in first-degree murder and conspiring to commit murder in the death of her husband, David Auclair, 45, in 2019 in Hinesburg.
Jury selection in her case was set to start Monday in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington, with the trial to follow.
However, at a Friday hearing in the case, Judge Kevin Griffin put the trial off until at least January.
He said Auclair had raised concerns about her attorney, Robert Sussman, at a hearing earlier in the week and wanted a new attorney. The judge said he instructed Sussman and Auclair to meet and try to hash out any differences.
“It’s the court’s view that, at least from the court’s end, it is clear that this case has been vigorously litigated on behalf of Ms. Auclair,” the judge said Friday.
Sussman told the judge Friday that he met with Auclair, who is being held at the Chittenden County Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, and provided her with a “large quantity” of documents related to the case that he thought she had already but didn’t.
“Now that she has these materials, we’re going to have time to go through it, and she’ll be in a more comfortable position moving forward,” he said, adding that, as a result, Auclair was satisfied with him continuing as her attorney.
The judge asked Auclair if she agreed.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
Auclair then withdrew her request for a new lawyer.
Griffin said that, to allow Auclair and her attorney time to go over those documents, he agreed to put off the trial — probably to early next year.
“I’m not committing to specific trial dates yet, but it’s probably not likely that we would be able to get this set for trial until about probably January,” the judge said.
Auclair told Griffin she did not object to the delay.
“I think it’s in everyone’s interests, both the state’s and the defense, to just make sure we are being as careful as we can to make sure that this is done correctly,” the judge said. “In the greater scheme of things, we’d be looking at a three-month postponement of the trial, but given how long the case has been pending, that’s not that much time.”
Auclair’s son, Kory Lee George, 35, who was also charged in the case, reached a plea deal with prosecutors earlier this month.
In exchange for his guilty plea to conspiring with his mother to kill his stepfather, David Auclair, at a trailhead in Hinesburg on July 11, 2019, other charges against him were dismissed. He faces up to 18 years to life in prison and has agreed to cooperate as a prosecution witness during his mother’s trial, according to court filings in his case.
According to a WCAX report on George’s change-of-plea hearing earlier this month, George is expected to testify that he was at the scene at the time of the fatal shooting and his mother pulled the trigger of the gun that killed David Auclair in July 2019.
According to documents filed along with George’s plea agreement, he and his mother had discussed killing David Auclair weeks earlier and then lured David Auclair to the trailhead where the shooting took place.
The court filing stated that David Auclair was shot 11 times.
