By Debbie Bryce
The case of Torey Adamcik, one of two former Pocatello High School students convicted of killing their classmate Cassie Jo Stoddart in 2006, will be back in 6th District Court on Friday.
Bannock County Deputy Prosecutor Ian Service said the post-conviction relief hearing will determine if Adamcik’s civil rights were violated when he was convicted of the murder.
Stoddart was found stabbed to death inside the home of a relative who she was house sitting for. She sustained 29 wounds during the attack.
In separate trials, Adamcik and Brian Draper were both found guilty of the first-degree murder of Stoddart, who was 16 at the time of her death. The teens were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Service said Adamcik has exhausted his criminal appeals and is now pursuing civil action.
“(Adamcik) is seeking a new trial or a new sentencing based on several claims,” Service said. “I am asking for a summary dismissal of all claims — it should be dismissed.”
The post-conviction relief hearing will be conducted by Sixth District Judge Mitchell Brown at 1:30 p.m.
Adamcik claims that the sentence passed down by retired Sixth District Judge Pete McDermott is cruel and unusual, and he states that his counsel was ineffective in his case.
In 2010, MSNBC aired a documentary, “In Coldest Blood,” that profiled the murder case and in 2013, Adamcik’s mother, Shannon Adamcik, published a book about the murder titled, “The Guilty Innocent.”
Shannon has maintained that her son might have been guilty of many things, but she does not believe he took part in the fatal stabbing. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.
During Torey’s trial, prosecutors showed a video recorded by Torey and Draper as they planned the murder and listened to Pink Floyd.