KNOXVILLE, Iowa -- A man who was charged with murder in the death of his mother, after already being found liable in a civil wrongful death trial, was in court Monday.
Jason Carter is trying to overturn that civil court judgement, saying some evidence was withheld from him.
Shirley Carter was shot and killed in her Lacona home in 2015. Her husband Bill Carter was convinced that their son Jason was responsible, but there was not enough evidence to make an arrest in the case.
Bill then took his son to court last year, where he was found guilty of wrongful death and ordered to pay $10 million in damages.
That trial did produce enough evidence to charge Jason Carter with first degree murder in Shirley Carter’s death.
The hearing to vacate the civil judgement or to obtain a new trial is expected to last for two days in Marion County.
Carter's murder trial does not yet have a set date but a judge has already ruled to move it out of Marion County because of pre-trial publicity.