Defense: Wait for facts in Amanda Strous murder case
"We have complete confidence in the justice system's ability to find the truth," the news release states.
Attorneys representing Mathew Benner, the man charged with killing Amanda Strous in North Carolina, are asking the public to "reserve judgement in this case until the facts are presented in court."
Strous, a Dallastown native, all-star field hockey player and bride-to-be, was murdered on June 18 in Charlotte, N.C., police say. Benner, who lived in the same apartment complex as Strous, was arrested in Nye County, Nevada last week in connection with her death.
Benner is being represented by two attorneys: Jeremy Smith of Smith Horton Law PLLC and Corey Parton of Parton Buckingham PLCC, both in Charlotte, N.C. On Saturday, Smith tweeted a news release, which says the attorneys feel they have an ethical duty to make a public statement based on the North Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct.
"Law enforcement in Nevada made statements regarding alleged events surrounding Mr. Benner's arrest," the news release states. "There has also been extensive speculation in various media reports about the events at issue in this case."
The Nye County Sheriff's Office said in a news release last week that it obtained a confession from Benner. Smith declined to comment to the Charlotte Observer about the sheriff's statement.
In the news release, the defense attorneys asked the public to reserve judgement until the facts are presented.
"We have complete confidence in the justice system's ability to find the truth, and we do not intend to try this case in the media," the news release says.
The release also states they will not be making any more statements regarding the case unless they are ethically required to do so.
Smith and Parton could not be immediately reached for comment by the York Daily Record on Sunday. Benner was still being held in the Nye County Detention Center on Sunday. He signed a waiver for extradition last week.
Mourners who attended a vigil last week for Strous remembered her as "a shining light."
A funeral for Strous was held Saturday at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in York Township. Field hockey players formed an arch with their sticks as Strous' casket was carried out of the church at the end of the service.
Strous and her fiance, Cory McCleaf, were planning to marry on July 30.