Court denies relief request

A Portland woman serving more than five decades in prison for murder was denied post-conviction relief this week.

Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison denied the request from Esther J. Stephen, 34, who alleged various violations of Constitutional rights during her questioning and trial for the Jan. 12, 2020, murder of 31-year-old Shea Briar.

Stephen was sentenced in May 2021 to 55 years in prison for the murder. She was found guilty by a Jay Circuit Court jury following a five-day trial.

Shelby Hiestand of Portland and Hannah Knapke of Fort Recovery were also charged with involvement in the crime. Hiestand is also serving a 55-year sentence for murder, having been found guilty in August 2021, and Knapke pleaded to voluntary manslaughter, receiving a 17.5-year prison sentence.

Stephen, who shared a child with Briar, filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February 2022 in which she alleged she was denied her Constitutional rights because of inefficient trial counsel assistance and other issues.

Stephen’s attorney, Jill Gonzalez, died in April 2021 prior to her sentencing. Jay County chief public defender Brandon Murphy represented Stephen at her sentencing and on direct appeal. Murphy filed Stephen’s initial appeal in August 2021, arguing the evidence was insufficient, challenging a jury instruction and questioning whether the sentence was appropriate, according to court documents.

Jay Circuit Court held an evidentiary hearing earlier this month. According to court documents filed in connection with the case, Stephen argued Gonzalez should have filed a motion to suppress or objected to statements she made in her interviews with law enforcement. 

(Stephen said she made comments about seeking a lawyer while speaking with police. She argued police should have ceased the interview at that time.)

She also argued Gonzalez should have impeached trial witness Kristi Sibray because of inconsistencies in her statements.

Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison wrote in the decision filed Thursday that Stephen didn’t make a “clear and unequivocal invocation of her Miranda right” — the right to remain silent amid police interrogation, as well as the right to an attorney — during her interviews with police, nor did her comments make it clear she was requesting the presence of an attorney.

He also wrote the court did not find there were inconsistencies in Sibray’s comments at trial, and, if there had been, impeaching her “would not have benefited their theory of defense at trial.”

“The court concludes that the evidence does not support a finding that the petitioner was denied effective assistance of counsel,” Hutchison wrote.