Judge to rule whether body camera footage of suspect in double homicide to be admissible in trial

MADISON, Wis. — One of two men accused in the murder of a Madison doctor and her husband appeared in court Thursday as lawyers made arguments on what evidence should be allowed during his trial scheduled for next month.

Khari Sanford is facing two counts of first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime in the murders of Dr. Beth Potter and Robin Carre in March 2020. Potter and Carre were found in a ditch at the UW Arboretum by a jogger after being shot. Carre was pronounced dead at the scene, while Potter was still alive when she was found, but died at the hospital.

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The criminal complaint in the case says Sanford was dating the couple’s daughter. Potter and Carre had recently moved their daughter and Sanford into an AirBNB apartment shortly before the murder, forcing them to move out of the home due to concerns the young couple was not following social distancing guidelines during the pandemic, potentially putting Potter, who had a medical condition, at risk during the pandemic.

RELATED: Complaint: Madison doctor, husband shot by daughter’s boyfriend

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At issue during Thursday’s motion hearing was whether a police interview of Sanford before he was arrested would be admissible during the trial. The detective who talked to Sanford on April 2, 2020, Det. Peter Grimyser of the UW-Madison police department, took the stand during the motion hearing to testify about the conversation.

Grimyser, who was the lead detective on the case, said he found Sanford at a home on Crescent Road in Madison after someone reported he was in their home. Grimyser said UWPD did not have a warrant to arrest Sanford at that time or enter the home, but said Sanford was someone they wanted to talk to and that he came out of the home to talk to investigators.

Grimyser said he and an agent from the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation spent about an hour talking to Sanford before the interview ended and they put him in a squad car to take him to the police station.

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“It was pretty relaxed,” Grimyser said. “We were trying to gather information from him, so we were pretty calm when we were questioning him.”

Grimyser said Sanford cooperated during the interview and never asked to end it or leave, and never objected to any of the questions. Sanford did not confess to any crimes.

A portion of the interview was picked up on a body camera on a nearby UWPD officer, but Grimyser said he did not have a body camera himself because he was not in uniform.

The judge in the case, Judge Ellen Berz, will review a flash drive containing the body camera footage before issuing a written decision on whether it will be allowed to be shown during Sanford’s trial, which is scheduled to begin with jury selection on May 16.

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RELATED: Family, friends remember couple murdered at UW Arboretum one year ago

Media Restrictions

Before proceedings began Thursday, Judge Berz ruled that live streaming of the hearing was prohibited, and media outlets would only be allowed to show a single 10-second long video clip from the proceedings, also ruling any footage captured during the several hours-long hearing beyond that 10-second clip be deleted after 24 hours. Berz also added there would be no recording of any kind outside of the courtroom’s media room, meaning those in the gallery would be prohibited from taking pictures or recording video or audio.

READ MORE: Dane County judge blocks full media access to a high-profile case

Both the prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney William Brown, and the defense have requested live streaming be prohibited during Sanford’s trial.