Defense attorneys threw an interesting twist into what was supposed to be a routine pretrial hearing Tuesday for Andrew Orellana, a Sioux City man accused of shooting and killing a rival gang member back in 1997.

Prior to the hearing, Orellana’s attorneys filed a motion asking prosecutors to produce a variety of evidence.

Tops on the list was details of a phone call someone made to Sioux City police, reporting that a gun used in the murder was in a police officer’s mailbox.

Say what?

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The silence has broken.

Although there have been several filings over the summer in Timothy Sohler’s murder case, most were to postpone court dates or involved regular court procedures.

That’s a stark contrast to the Lawrence Douglas Harris murder case, during which I accumulated two huge stacks of court filings.

However, in the past few weeks attorneys for both sides in the Sohler case have shown a bit more about what we may see when he goes to trial on Oct. 20.

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When Ed and Lucinda Hulit came to the Sioux City Journal early last year for an interview, I had never seen two people so devastated.They cried as they sat at the table in one of our small conference rooms, at a loss to understand why their daughter had to die or how they were supposed to go on living.

It had only been a few months since Raina, 15, had been found shot to death.

Matthew Hettinger, 24, was accused of shooting her in his basement.

When we spoke again a few weeks ago in advance of Hettinger’s trial, the pain and grief hadn’t lessened. They hoped sending him to prison for life would help, but on Friday he took a plea deal that sends him to prison for up to 45 years.

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And all this with no body! Interesting stuff…

Christopher Edwards, who is accused of killing missing UNO student Jessica O’Grady with a sword and hiding her body, could face up to 20 years in prison after his conviction Saturday afternoon. O’Grady, 19, had told friends she believed she was pregnant with his baby before her disappearance last May.

You can read the entire coverage of the trial here. His lawyer says he will “definitely” appeal the case. I’m just hoping law enforcement finds O’Grady’s body soon, or it could get ugly…

Today the fate of Omaha man Christopher Edwards, who is accused of killing missing UNO student Jessica O’Grady with a sword and hiding her body, went to a jury for deliberation after 10 days of trial. O’Grady, 19, had told friends she believed she was pregnant with his baby before her disappearance last May. The trial is unusual because Douglas County prosecutors went ahead with the case even though there is no body as proof.

You can read the entire coverage of the trial here.

A funny (yet disheartening) excerpt from one of the latest articles described the reactions of jurors when they were told they’d have to convene over the weekend. One young woman raised her hand and said: “Can you explain, like, what that means? Deliberate over the weekend?”

Are we leaving the fate of a potential murderer in the hands of people like this?  Oh, sweet Jesus, help us all.

There’s a very interesting murder trial going on in Omaha right now — that of Christopher Edwards, who is accused of killing missing UNO student Jessica O’Grady with a sword and hiding her body. O’Grady, 19, had told friends she believed she was pregnant with his baby before her disappearance last May. The trial is unusual because Douglas County prosecutors went ahead with the case even though there is no body as proof.

Omaha World-Herald writers Todd Cooper and Lynn Safranek are writing powerful stories about the trial. Check out the complete coverage here.

It’s hard to stay neutral in these cases, but I think the writers are doing a good job. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.  The last day of trial Friday, prosecutors showed a photo of Edwards’ mattress, soaked in blood for about an 8-foot diameter.