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Knigge trial pushed back to November

Clare woman is accused of killing Jessica Gomez

For the second time in a month, the trial of a woman accused of killing another woman once described as a friend has been continued.

The first-degree murder trial of Mackenzie L. Knigge, 27, of Clare, has been rescheduled to start on Nov. 26.

The trial had been previously scheduled to start Aug. 7.

She is accused of killing Jessica Gomez, 26, of Fort Dodge, in August 2017. Gomez was once described as Knigge’s best friend.

Knigge pleaded not guilty on Sept. 25, 2017. She is being held in the Webster County Jail on $1 million bond.

In the motion for continuance, filed in Webster County District Court, Knigge’s attorneys, Christopher Kragnes and Tiffany Kragnes, of Des Moines, said more time is needed to look at evidence in the case, which they said the state has not provided to them.

“The need for the continuance was necessitated by the anticipated discovery to be provided by the state to defendant as a result of at least six applications for subpoena filed by the state between the dates of June 13-18,” the motion stated.

As of July 15, Knigge’s attorneys stated that they had not received the evidence.

“Defendant, her counsel and private investigator will need time to review this information and prepare for trial,” the motion stated.

Ryan Baldridge, first assistant Webster County attorney, filed a motion resisting the trial continuance.

In Baldridge’s motion, he wrote that it was previously agreed that the continuance to Aug. 7 was sufficient.

He also denied that evidence was being kept from the defense.

“Mr. Kragnes has been fully advised by the undersigned as to all materials received by the state and all possible additional witnesses to be listed by the state,” he wrote. “As a result, there is no undue burden or surprise to the defendant.”

Baldridge further said the only pieces of evidence that had not been provided to the defense were photos of the scene where Gomez’s body was found — taken by the Webster County Medical Examiner’s office — as well as an “inventory receipt form for the seizure of cellphones in this matter. Neither of these items constitutes information the defendant was previously unaware of.”

However, during a hearing in Webster County District Court Thursday morning, Chief Judge Kurt Wilke, of the 2nd Judicial District, and the presiding judge over Knigge’s case, agreed to the defense’s motion and continued the trial until November.

The investigation into the crime began Aug. 7, 2017, after Webster County sheriff’s deputies were called to Knigge’s apartment at 524 E. Front St. in Clare, where they found large amounts of blood in the bathroom and evidence of an attempt to clean the apartment, according to the criminal complaint filed with the Webster County attorney’s office.

Investigators also found evidence that led them to conclude that a body had been removed from the apartment.

Knigge and Gomez were publicly reported as missing on Aug. 9, 2017.

Knigge was arrested in connection with the case on Aug. 10, 2017, in Lafayette, Indiana. She was a passenger in a stolen Pontiac Montana minivan that was stopped by police there.

Another person in the van, Phillip Williams, 25, of Lafayette, Indiana, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Gomez’s death.

He was extradited back to Webster County from Indiana on July 7, after facing other charges in that state.

Williams’ arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

Gomez’s burned body was found in a ditch along Indiana Avenue near Clare on Aug. 12, 2017.

According to criminal complaints, her death is alleged to have occurred “on or about” Aug. 5, 2017, in Knigge’s apartment.

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