BEULAH -- Joni Holbrook won't get a fair shake in the slaying of her husband unless a judge appoints a private investigator, her attorney said.
Holbrook faces an open count of murder in the Aug. 10 shooting death of her husband, Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin Holbrook. Authorities believe Joni Holbrook shot her husband with his service weapon as he slept.
Melvin Holbrook's former peers in the state police continue to assist in the investigation.
"I think it might be hard to find some non-biased interviews," said Joni Holbrook's attorney, Jesse L. Williams. "I think it would be helpful to have an unbiased person doing the interviews."
Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer will decide Friday whether to appoint a private investigator at public expense.
Williams filed a separate motion to retain a psychiatric expert to determine whether his client suffers from battered spouse syndrome, which he contends is common among women who are physically and psychologically abused by their mates.
She didn't give investigators a motive, but Williams alleges Melvin Holbrook abused her. That's behind another motion he filed to have a computer technician take another look at Melvin Holbrook's computer, which authorities seized shortly after his death.
Williams contends the computer contains sexually explicit materials that "further illustrate the decedent's desire to hide his secret life of torture, rape, sodomy, extreme mental abuse and physical abuse."
Benzie County Prosecutor John B. Daugherty disagrees.
"(The) defendant has not set forth facts supporting her allegations ... " according to motion responses Daugherty filed. He did not return a call for comment.
Melvin Holbrook, 53, was a 23-year state police veteran who served as a desk sergeant at the Traverse City post at the time of his death. He previously served at posts in Manistee, Coldwater and elsewhere.
Holbrook's trial is scheduled to begin in April, but Williams expects that date to be pushed back.
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