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New trial petition circulates for Robert Pape and Cristin Smith

Published August 31, 2018 11:19 PM

3 weeks ago, Robert Pape and Cristin Smith were sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of Jon Hayward, Becky Friedli, and Becky Friedli.

Today, a petition rallying behind the concept of a “new” and “fair” trial for the two convicted murderers has surpassed 500 hundred signatures, over halfway to its goal of one thousand.

John Smith, the father of convicted murderer Cristin Smith, spoke with News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2 today regarding the petition: “It makes me feel great that that many people would reach out for Cristin…people know Cristin…Cristin had never ever been in any trouble. As a teenager, he was never arrested, he was in church every Sunday.” He hopes the petition will lead to a retrial.

“The fact is I am innocent and I didn’t commit these crimes and that will never change,” said Cristin Smith during his sentencing hearing.

12 years after the killings, the trial coming to an end provided closure for the loved ones of Jon, Becky, and Vicky.

“They have the right people and justice was served today…,” said Ron Friedli, father of Becky Friedli, after the sentencing.

During the August 10 sentencing hearing, Judge Bernard Schwartz ruled that the pair would not be granted a new trial. The trial itself spanned three months and required 10 days of jury deliberations

Pape and Smith were re-arrested in August of 2016, following the emergence of new evidence; cell phone tower data suggested that Pape and Smith were traveling in the direction of the murder scene before their phones were shut off on the night of the killings.

The petition, which was started only days ago, has picked up traction and garnered 518 signatures at the time of this publication. According to the campaign page, this year’s trial was unfair.

“The first trial was extremely biased, and the jury was unable to hear all the facts and evidence,” reads the petition. “I am not asking for anybody to take what we say on faith, and we encourage everybody to do their homework before making any decision on signing this petition.”