Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Steve Crump has been accused of withholding evidence in a 2018 murder trial in order to hide an alleged affair for which he was purportedly being blackmailed into securing a conviction, according to a motion filed in Bradley County Criminal Court on Friday.
The motion, filed by attorney Bill Speek, professes to detail a recording of a conversation between the siblings of James Cheatham, who was shot and killed in 2016 during a domestic dispute in Cleveland, Tennessee, on Halloween morning.
Cheatham’s wife, Miranda Cheatham, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison, the Cleveland Daily Banner reported at the time.
Miranda Cheatham is seeking an acquittal or at least a new trial, as her defense says it it obtained a recording on July 16 of the allegedly incriminating conversation, arguing it “casts serious doubts on the validity and honesty of the prosecution in this case.”
Speek declined comment Saturday morning, stating that the motion speaks for itself.