Nicole Finn murder trial will stay in Polk County for now

LEE ROOD   | The Des Moines Register

About 250 to 280 Polk County residents will be questioned Friday about whether they can be fair and impartial in the murder trial of Nicole Finn, accused in the starvation death of her 16-year-old daughter Natalie. 

Polk County Judge Karen Romano on Thursday denied a second bid by Finn's attorneys to move the trial out of central Iowa, saying she will reconsider the request if juror questionnaires reveal too much bias.

If the trial moves forward as planned after Thanksgiving, Romano said she plans to admonish jurors not to read or watch any media about the case. She will take the added step of asking them to turn off news alerts on their smartphones, she said.

Nicole Finn has pleaded not guilty to several felony charges, including murder, for allegedly abusing Natalie and two teenage siblings, all of whom were adopted. Her lawyers have said the mother will use a defense of diminished mental capacity.

On Thursday, Finn's defense attorney Thomas Augustine made an impassioned plea to Romano to move the case, saying state legislators had made "malicious" comments about Natalie's parents and coverage since the teen's Oct. 24 death has been "toxic."

He said keeping the trial in Polk County was "simply feeding Ms. Finn to the wolves."

"The damage is done," he said. "We have to, in the interest of justice and the constitution, get this out of Polk County."

But prosecutor Nan Horvat said the questionnaires given to people reporting for jury duty Friday will reveal biases. She said the prosecution also wants Finn, 43, to receive a fair trial. 

Numerous people, including school officials and neighbors, reported they believed Natalie was being abused before she was pulled out of public school last year and died of emaciation from denial of critical care.

She was wearing an adult diaper and lying on the linoleum floor of her bare bedroom when police and medics discovered her, according to court documents. Nicole Finn did try to revive her daughter and called 911, Augustine said.

The trial of Natalie's father, Joseph Finn II, was continued until Jan. 8. The 46-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, neglect, abandonment and child endangerment.

His attorney, Jim Cook, said last month that Joseph Finn doesn’t anticipate using any “special” defenses, instead contending that the father didn't live in Nicole Finn’s home after the two divorced and “wasn’t around the kids that often."