GASTONIA, NC (WBTV) - A Gaston County judge may decide to move Danny Hembree's second murder trial.
Hembree was convicted in the 2009 murder of Heather Catterton.
Now he will face a second trial in March for the 2009 murder Randi Saldana.
Hembree's attorneys say his last murder trial received so much media attention that it would be impossible for him to get a fair trial in Gaston County.
Judge Beverly Beal agreed with that argument during a change of venue hearing held on Friday.
But Beal said it would be difficult to secure the large amount of evidence in the case if it is moved out of the county.
District attorney Locke Bell suggested bringing an out of county jury in to hear the case.
This jury would be picked from a county that the local media does not reach.
The jury would be bused to the trial each day, which has been done before in other cases.
Hembree took the stand during his last trial and confessed to the murders to police on tape.
The tapes were shown in court.
That evidence will be presented in the second trial.
Hembree's attorneys also subpoenaed each of the reporters who covered the last trial to testify at the hearing, including WBTV reporter Sarah Batista.
The attorneys wanted the reporters to answer questions about the intense media coverage the last case received.
Attorneys for the media argued that reporters should not be required to testify and the amount of media coverage could be established through a submission of articles and television reports.
The judge agreed and reporters did not have to testify.
The judge will decide on the change of venue motion next week.
