Guy Heinze Jr.: Southeast Georgia man convicted of killing family requests new trial

A local man convicted of killing eight people, including family members, is pushing for a new trial.

Attorneys for Guy Heinze claim there's missing and mishandled evidence.

Action News Jax reporter Amber Krycka exchanged messages with Heinze's girlfriend on Monday night and she said they are hopeful the appeal will be granted.

She said she’s been by Heinze's side for the last five years as he sits in jail, hoping and believing he will be free so the real culprits, she said, will be caught.

In 2013, Heinze was convicted of killing eight people in 2009.

He now wants a new trial, claiming the state threw out evidence, among other things.

There are 11 errors detailed in the motion. It claims the jury failed to follow instructions, they didn't understand the evidence and wanted Heinze to prove he was innocent instead of wanting the prosecution to prove he was guilty.

Another claim states an item was destroyed without Heinze having the opportunity to look at it.

And it's not just prosecutors he's blaming but former Glynn County police Chief Matt Doering. The motion claims he conducted fingerprint comparisons on the evidence collected, but during the trial, there was no documentation of those fingerprint comparisons.

We talked to Heinze's girlfriend tonight on Facebook. She said the first trial was a joke and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves.

Action News Jax was there in 2013 as Heinze was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his father, his uncle, his cousins and his cousin's boyfriend. The courtroom was stunned, including Heinze's brother, Tyler, who stormed out in tears,

"This ain't justice. This ain't right. What do you mean? Everybody sat through that trial. You sat through the same trial I sat through, all y'all sat there. Y'all heard what y'all heard," Tyler Heinze said.

In August 2009, Heinze said he came home to find his entire family dead inside the Brunswick home they all shared. He was the one who called 911 and reported they had all been beaten to death.

We spoke to a neighbor off camera who said she testified in that trial five years ago and she said there was a lot of missing information and there needs to be another trial.

We also tried reaching out to the victims' family, who told us five years ago they had no doubt Heinze was a cold-blooded killer.

Cox Media Group