Nov. 21—Joseph Hunnicutt, a man accused of killing his former girlfriend in 2021, was found not guilty on all charges on Friday afternoon, and will be released from custody.
The jury heard closing arguments from the attorneys on Thursday afternoon after a 13-day jury trial, and spent about six hours deliberating before coming to the resolution of not guilty.
Hunnicutt, 43, was accused of second-degree murder and tampering with a dead body in the strangulation death of his former girlfriend, Alison Cantrell, 33.
Cantrell was found in a field in El Paso County south of Fountain on March 15, 2021, several days after she had gone missing. Hunnicutt was arrested more than a month later in Texas and charged in Cantrell’s death.
During closing arguments Hunnicutt’s defense attorney Jennifer Ahnstedt spoke passionately about the overwhelming lack of evidence to convict her client, and the “poor” investigation that took place following her death.
“Alison Cantrell deserved better than this,” Ahnstedt said during her closing arguments on Thursday afternoon.
Ahnstedt pointed to the lack of DNA evidence found on Cantrell’s body . Specifically, Ahnstedt said there was DNA on Cantrell’s neck that was not Hunnicutt’s, but instead was from an unidentified man.
Ahnstedt said detectives’ neglect in interviewing others possibly connected with the death, including one man who allegedly had deep sexual interest in Cantrell, and not conducting an thorough investigation led to the arrest of “an innocent man.”
Prosecuting attorney Brien Cecil attempted to convince the jury that despite those missing pieces of evidence, Hunnicutt was “the only one who could have killed (Cantrell).”
Cecil pointed to numerous pieces of evidence such as the times Hunnicutt left his house the night of Cantrell’s disappearance, the fact that he dropped their daughter off to be watched by someone else that night, and that there was blood found on Hunnicutt’s shoes and pants in his home as more than satisfactory for a guilty verdict.
Those points were countered by Ahnstedt, stating the evidence provided by the prosecution was all circumstantial, and not enough to convict a man of murder. Additionally, Ahnstedt stated that the blood was tested and didn’t belong to Cantrell, and detectives were only able to determine that there was unidentified blood on Hunnicutt’s clothing.
Cecil also attempted to outline how Hunnicutt was allegedly abusive to Cantrell during their relationship by having friends of Cantrell testify at the trial.
Cantrell was a bartender at Mother Muff’s in Old Colorado City and a former roller derby player.
Hunnicutt, who also goes by the names Jason Bailey and Joseph Sullivan, has been incarcerated in El Paso County jail since his arrest in April 2021.
A not guilty verdict on all charges means Hunnicutt is acquitted and can’t go to trial again for the same accusations. He was scheduled to be released from jail later Friday evening, Judge Frances Johnson said.
