TULSA, Okla. -- Tulsa attorneys continue to battle out concerns over mishandled evidence leading up to Michael Bever's jury trial.
The teen is charged with killing his parents and three siblings inside their Broken Arrow home.
The lawyers are concerned over evidence that went missing between the time the case closed in 2015 and then when an investigation began over the lead detective this past fall.
Defense attorneys are asking the assistant DA to take the stand before the trial, saying they believe there was suspicious behavior.
The defender referenced the internal investigation of the detective, saying evidence was grossly mishandled. His office wants to know what happened to a hard drive that went missing. Prosectors said the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was unable to access any information on this device, and as soon as they learned it went missing they contacted the defense.
The defender said his department is suspicious after seeing a record of phone calls between the ADA and detective on the day it was reported the hard drive disappeared.
"If somebody wants to draw some type of conclusion because a detective communicates with a DA on a particular case, then I guess they can make that speculative guess as to what it was," District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
Kunzweiler said it's normal for them to be communicating with law enforcement at any given time, and this is smoke and mirrors by the defense to make up for the strong case against them.
The defense also brought up what they said are pages from a journal that went missing. Prosecutors said all the information they have on evidence has been provided.
The judge suspended the hearing on Monday. Other pre-trial hearings are expected over the next month, but it was ruled that nothing will delay Bever's April court date.
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