Pretrial hearings in Heather Elvis case start Monday

Pretrial hearings for Sidney Moorer, who is charged in connection with the disappearance of Heather Elvis, are scheduled to start Monday morning, and the defense is seeking to suppress testimony from Elvis’ former roommate.

Attorney Kirk Truslow filed documents in April to prohibit certain evidence, hold separate trials on Moorer’s remaining charges and suppress testimony by Elvis’ former roommate during the trial scheduled to start June 20.

Moorer, 40, and wife Tammy Moorer, 43, faced several charges related to the disappearance of Elvis, who was last seen in December 2013. The murder charges were dropped March 10 by the Horry County Solicitor’s Office, along with the obstruction of justice charge for Tammy Moorer. Indecent exposure charges against the couple were also dismissed.

Sidney Moorer still faces kidnapping and obstruction of justice charges, while Tammy Moorer still faces a kidnapping charge. No trial date has been set for Tammy Moorer.

One motion in Sidney Moorer’s case seeks to prohibit “the introduction of certain evidence,” including staged photographs of the Moorers posing with a firearm while on vacation; statements made by Tammy Moorer, in any form, to or about Heather Elvis or the Elvis family; all communication between Sidney and Tammy Moorer; all photographs explicit in nature obtained from the Moorers; and other prejudicial and non-probative evidence.

A motion was also filed attempting to “quash,” which means to annul or void, the obstruction of justice charge, and an additional motion was submitted seeking to prohibit the charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice from being tried together, according to court documents.

The defense also wants to throw out “any evidence of hearsay statements purported to have been made by Heather Elvis,” including the testimony of Elvis’ former roommate, Brianna Warrellmann, who was out of town when Elvis disappeared.

“The defense submits that State witness Bree Warrellman’s [sic] testimony as to her telephone conversation with Heather Elvis, and more particularly what Heather told her, is inadmissible hearsay,” the document states.

On Dec. 18, 2013, the day Elvis was last heard from, Sidney Moorer spoke to Elvis from a payphone at Mr. Joe White Avenue in Myrtle Beach for more than four minutes, authorities said.

Elvis then called a friend after that call and said Sidney Moorer was leaving his wife and wanted to resume their relationship, according to authorities.

After the phone call with Sidney Moorer, Elvis remained at home, but later left for Peachtree Boat Landing in Socastee where her car was found abandoned the next day, officials said.

The defense also goes after the Horry County police and former Elvis case prosecutor Donna Elder in a court document that is labeled as a response to state plea negotiations.

The document states an offer made to Sidney Moorer should be admissible, and goes on to state: “In particular, it would be admissible to show a true picture of the conduct, bias, and immensely inadequate investigation and handling of this case by law enforcement and prosecutor at the time, Donna Elder.”

A motion was also filed March 28 to suppress one of the state’s proposed expert witnesses, Grant Fredericks, according to court documents. Circuit Court Judge Markley Dennis denied the defense’s attempt to suppress Fredericks at an April hearing.

Fredericks, a contract instructor of video sciences at the FBI National Academy, is a certified forensic video analyst and is recognized as a leading instructor in the science of photographic/video comparison, reverse projection and vehicle speed analysis, according to a profile about him on a website for Forensic Video Solutions.

This story was originally published June 11, 2016 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Pretrial hearings in Heather Elvis case start Monday."