On the last day to file motions in the murder case of Kira Trevino, the defense attorney for Jeffery Trevino notified the court and Ramsey County prosecutors on Wednesday that the defense wasn't able to prepare for trial or select proper motions because it hadn't received all the information about the prosecution's evidence.

In addition, defense attorney John Conard contested the recent push by prosecutors for an enhanced sentence for Jeffery Trevino if he is convicted of killing his wife.

Kira Trevino, who was last seen on Feb. 21, is presumed dead. Despite repeated searches by community members and law enforcement officials, she has not been found. Her husband has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in her disappearance. His trial is scheduled to begin May 28.

In a motion filed Wednesday, the defense said it would ask the court to compel the completion of discovery. It also asked the court to strike down a previous motion by prosecutors to potentially double the prison time for Jeffery Trevino if he is found guilty.

Prosecutors said that since Trevino allegedly failed to "render aid" to his wife and treated her with "particular cruelty" by hiding her body that he should receive the stiffer sentence.

Conard said in a memorandum, however, that prosecutors' aggravating factors aren't factually or legally supported.

"The state proposes that an aggravated sentence is appropriate because it alleges that Jeffery Trevino concealed Kira Trevino's body. The obvious first factual question at issue is: what body?" Conard notes in the filing.

Conard goes on to say that there isn't evidence that someone hid her body, or more specifically that Jeffery Trevino did. He argues that concealment of a body on its own is not sufficient to depart from sentencing guidelines. He also said that there was no factual basis for prosecutors' other allegation that Trevino did not render aid.

Besides the defense's filings, in a memorandum submitted by the prosecution, Assistant County Attorney Andrew R.K. Johnson said that Kira Trevino's out-of-court statements that she said to her mother, co-workers and other friends about her unhappiness in her marriage and plans to leave in the months leading up to her disappearance should be admissible.

"The subsequent collision between the defendant's desire that [Kira] stay and [Kira's] determination to leave is likely what precipitated her murder," Johnson noted.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495