How Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald’s Office Buried Denis Prek'a Case
- Linda Thom
- Nov 6, 2025
- 23 min read
Updated: Nov 7, 2025
On March 19, 2019, 21-year-old college student Denis Preka went to his "best friend's" house to study for an exam. Unbeknownst to him, Paul Wiedmaier arranged a crime by contacting Nicholas Remington, a well-known drug dealer at the University of Michigan, and Connor Gibaratz, Remington best friend, who arrived at Paul's house around 10:30 PM. Together, they maliciously added a lethal dose of MDMA (Molly) to Denis's coffee while he was preparing for a test the next morning, finding amusement in watching and sharing his suffering on Snapchat.
On the night of March 18, 2019, from 11:39 pm until 1:50 am on March 19, 2019, Remington uploaded nine videos to his Hulkolas Snapchat account. These videos showed him mocking, forcing liquid down his throat, and throwing water on his face while laughing.
Nine Snapchat Videos Posted.
During the late-night hours of March 18, 2019, multiple Snapchat users viewed and commented on videos showing 21-year-old Denis Preka in visible medical distress after being unknowingly given MDMA/Methylone (“Molly”).
Instead of calling for help, Paul Wiedmaier — the only person Denis believed to be his best friend — stood by and watched as Nicholas Remington abused and mocked Denis’s suffering inside his home. Along with Connor Gibaratz, he failed to intervene or seek medical assistance. Meanwhile, 35 + people watching the Snapchat videos online reacted with confusion, mockery, and casual speculation, asking over and over “What is he on?” — unaware or unconcerned that they were witnessing a 21 year old young man dying in real time not even one said call 911.
First Snapchat video posted March 18, 2019, at 11:39 pm with caption
"He knows how to run it, going cross-eyed here." GAME OVER, TIME TO SLEEP. Remington's voice is heard in the video saying, "Keep your eyes straight, dammit." The same voice continues, "Eyes straight, eyes straight, yes, this is the best moment of your life, run it, baby."
Within minutes of the first Snapchat video being posted, at least nine users sent direct messages reacting to Denis’s suffering.Their questions show shock, confusion, and disbelief — yet none of them urged calling for help.
Instead, they are messaging Remington privately, asking, “What did he do?” “What happened to him?” “What’s he on, lmao?” “Holy shit, bro.” “Is he on crack, bro?” “What did this guy do?” “What drugs are these?” Remington responds, “Methylone - some moll.”Another person asks Remington, “Did you give that dude meth?” Remington answers, “Methylone - some moll.” “What is this man on?” Remington replies, “Methylone - some moll.”
Nicholas Remington responded to three users on the first video with the same phrase: “Methylone — some moll.” This was exactly what was found on his body by Oakland County examiners three weeks later, on April 10, 2019.
Second Snapchat posted: March 18, 2019, at 11:44 PM with filters
"I just want him to stop being cross-eyed I spoke to Jesus. He said he wanted my guardian angels:" WAVE CHECK
Remington's loudest voice in the video states: "Hit it from the back Denis, run it. Pull it across. Run it".
Third Snapchat clip posted March 18, 2019 11:46 PM "You can't handle the truth. The old whistle trick will get him boyz" WE STAND WITH NEW ZEALAND WE CONDEMN HATE.
Fourth Snapchat clip posted March 18, 2019 11:52 PM (Paul laughing)
"U got an exam at 8am" "Thats what the coffees for" NIGHT OWL
Fifth Snapchat clip posted March 18, 2019 11:57 PM
"He ripped himself a new vagina. Judgment day"
Sixth Snapchat clip posted: March 19, 2019 1:23 AM "This man wins the Oscar for best drama" INSOMNIA (FEEDING FROM A COFFE CUP)
Seventh Snapchat clip posted: March 19, 2019 1:42 AM
"Not an orderin art individual. Wait for it. *lower himself on face." CAN'T SLEEP
Eighth Snapchat clip posted: March 19, 2019 1:50 AM "We been taking turns cuz I say it hydrates him""Who else is up RN?
Ninth Snapchat clip posted: March 19, 2019 1:50 AM "Its Watering Time" "Novi Tuesday 1:50 AM" DING. DING. DING.
March 19, 2019 3:04 AM. Private message between Gibaratz and Remington "Come Wtf Come Just left me here Holy fucking shit Youre the worst friend"
March 19, 2019 9:11 AM. Paul Weidmeir Called 911
Time Line of the case for Nicholas Remington
On June 12, 2019, Magistrate Andra Richardson set a $1 million.
Magistrate Hon Richardson: MCR 6.106(a) guides the court in setting a bond, considering factors such as prior criminal record, probation status, substance abuse history, and reputation for being dangerous. In this case, the felony involved substance abuse, and the alleged conduct continued while on probation, resulting in a death. Due to the seriousness of the offense is evident. It caused death. For that reasons " I do find you risk, to be a danger to our society and to safety of the public and the bond is $1,000,000 cash surety no 10 percent"
On June 19, 2019, Judge Reeds denied bond at the Probable Cause Conference.
APA. Beth Hand: Some of the other factors that the Court needs to consider is obviously the danger to the community, is there a history of substance abuse as well as the severity of the charges and the likelihood of conviction. A good portion of this case, your Honor was captured on video on Snapchat. The callousness regarding the death of this individual, the demeanor of the Defendant during the time period while the victim was dying. Videotaping it, laughing. He does pose a serious danger to the community. This case involves the ingestion of drugs by the victim in this case, but it also is clear from the Snapchats that the Defendant himself is a drug user and a drug seller. The fact that he was on probation to two different courts shows that he does not have the self-control to obey a court order. So, whatever orders this Court would impose I think the Court should be very fearful that the Defendant’s history has demonstrated that he’s not inclined to follow those orders which is why he is serving a jail sentence currently which was imposed by the Circuit Court. All of those, Judge as well as the fact that the witness statements in this particular case there are several witnesses all of whom are fearful of the Defendant. I don’t think that at this point, your Honor, the Court should modify the bond.
Judge Reeds response “To clarify the record: After reviewing the pretrial services report and considering the fact that the individual has other pending cases for which he was on probation, including a case dismissed under the HYTA for throwing objects at trains or cars in Livonia, as well as two other similar charges that were dismissed, I have concerns. My initial concern is what assurances can be provided to ensure that this young man will adhere to conditions such as drug testing and other requirements. He was on probation when the alleged incident occurred, so I am not convinced at this time." ..but at this moment, I would not alter the bond decision myself.”
On June 19, 2019, at 2:32 PM, the Defense Attorney tweeted:
June 13, 2019 Defendants Demand for discovery June 19, 2019 after the hearing, which occurred from 11:14 to 11:41, he gave a warning to his followers three hours later. Just FYI from your friendly neighborhood lawyer: If you thought your @Snapchat messages disappeared like magic after 24 hours, I've got a DVD and a table full of snaps from a murder investigation that'll pop that illusion like a piñata at a kid's party.
Once Karen & APA Keast got his hands on the case, this slick defense attorney pulled a fast one and convinced her that his client wasn't the one snapping away on Snapchat.
September 27, 2019, Defense attorney Rockind argument to Judge Reeds
The night before the preliminary examination September 26, 2019, Nicholas
Remington’s best friend and eyewitness to the murder, Connor Gibaratz, obstructed
justice and logged into Remington’s Snapchat account and sent a Snap from his account.
After the hearing I told Beth Hand, and my husband showed her a screenshot that was
sent from Denis’ friend Avery. After the hearing my husband and I approached Beth
Hand and I told her, Rockind: “All it would take is an individual to know March 19th
someone to have access to the account and a password.”
“I believe Neil Rockind logged into Remington’s snapchat account last night. How does
he know that someone had access to Remington’s username and password?” She
replied, “He can lose his license. Send it to Balog for investigation.”
4. October 16 2019 Judge Reeds Transcript Examination-Bond Denied
PG 27-30 (Bind Over)
Judge Reeds: bond over the case one base of the fallowing evidence
“Okay. So, there has been a lot of arguments made. I’m sure that those arguments are
not done. However, there is a couple of things that were raised. ? Is it possible that
someone could hack your account and make messages? Yes. That’s true. That’s always
true. But to assume that, I don’t think that’s rational. Was this account registered to him,were the messages made by him, that’s the another objection by the defense. I looked
through every single one of these Snaps. Circumstantially, they clearly identify the
username
Hulkolas as Mr. Remington. There are references to the time frame of incarceration as
being in jail. As what clearly appears to be a pattern of of drug dealing at various
different points there are requests for what appear to be Venmo payments, where
Hulkolas is responding with Nicholas_Remington_1.
There are Snaps where there is an address where Hulkolas is saying,
“My addy is in Northville.” That’s where the defendant’s address is. At one point I think
the defendant let me find it, at one point the defendant actually gives the street address
in Northville of the house, so yes. All of those circumstantial facts could be made up by
someone, but I think the more rational interpretation of all the context of these is that
the Hulkolas is Mr. Remington. I think it would be a defiance of reason to think
otherwise. They’re incomplete; you’re absolutely right they’re incomplete. But that
doesn’t mean that what’s in there is wrong, it just means it’s not complete. If you got a
medical record and four pages of the medical records were not there that wouldn’t
mean that none of the medical records were admissible, but only that there were holes
in that and that would go, in my opinion, to weight. Obviously higher and better minds
will look at it, but I just don’t see any legitimate argument that this is not Mr.
Remington’s account and that the statements made there are somehow inherently
untrustworthy just because they’re not totally complete.
With regard to whether or not he actually gave the drugs to the decedent, that’s a little
tougher. There are many different responses that appear from the – a Snap that must
have been posted on the 19th asking basically what is – what was he on, what was the
kid on, what – various different versions of that where Hulkolas responds methylone,
some Mol or Mol . And there is also some – there is also one pretty relevant Snap from a
person that appears to be named on this application as Connor Gibaratz. I looked at the
information, Connor Gibaratz is endorsed as a witness. Frankly, I would have liked to
have heard from him.
5. February 19 2020 APA Beth Hand
People’s motion to admit simular acts evidence at trial persuant to MRE404(b)
Detective Balog testify explained that some of the videos contained filters or overlays
which are words or images that are placed on the video that are seen while the video is
being viewed. The wording on the overlay's are as follows: (Pg 2)
6. October 29 2020
Defense attorney Neil Rockind contributed $7,150 to Karen McDonald’s campaign
7. December 4, 2020, Judge Alexander Transcript Motion to remove Beth Hand.
Judge Alexander Denied the defense motion to remove assistant prosecutor Beth Hand
and any Brady violation. (PAGE 22-23) “ I mean I think Ms. Hand was doing - was doing
an - was doing her job as a prosecutor, she was talking to a witness who was going to
testify at trial. She decided not to call him for whatever reason. She thought that his
testimony was going to be - -you know maybe she should have given you some
information, Mr. Rockind, but at this point I'm not about to disqualify the prosecutor or
2the Prosecutor's Office. Denied the motion.”
8. December 31, 2020, Judge retired
Judge Alexander kept the defendant in jail for 15 months until his retirement.
9. January 4, 2021: Per Keast motion Pg 2
“Undersigned Assistant Prosecuting Attorney was assigned this file.
A phone call was placed to defense counsel sometime between that date and January 6,
2021. Defense counsel followed up with the email attached to his motion as Exhibit A”
.
10. January 6, 2021 - January 27, 2021
“In response to concerns expressed by defense counsel in his letter, undersigned A.P.A.
contacted Detective Balog, the officer in charge of the investigation, to obtain a
complete copy of all police reports so all parties could be assured discovery was
complete.
”
“A complete copy of the Novi Police Department report was obtained.”
New supplemental reports #9 & 10 (Police report stamp Create on 1/28/2021 03:15
On the same day, Detective Balog gave Keast a USB with all the Snapchat zip files
that Balog received on November 21, 2019, as a result of a warrant submitted to
Snapchat. These files include inculpatory evidence that clearly shows Connor Gibaratz
logged into Remington’s account, the Snapchat came from Gibaratz’s home address
while Remington was in jail, and the communication transcripts between Gibaratz and
Snapchat users where Gibaratz admits to using the account. PM). Keast withheld all this
inculpatory evidence from Judge Valentine and started his journey to get a murderer
out of jail.
12. February 3, 2021: Per Keast Motion Pg 2
to defense counsel.”
The pocket of discovery is all inculpatory evidence the Zipfile from Snapchat and report
13. February 11, 2021 PRETRIAL Judge Valentine Transcript (Page 4.23-25; 5.1-4)
Per Keast Motion “A pretrial conference was held before this Court. Defense counsel
stated that he would be filing a motion regarding information learned through the
discovery tendered.”
Defense: Let me just say that there's a piece of evidence that was disclosed to us that
was made that was turned over to the prosecution in the middle of the exam before the
closing arguments in the preliminary examination that completely undermine the basis,
from our perspective, of the bind-over.
3The “piece of evidence” Defense is referring to is a Snapchat sent from Remington’s
account in September of 2019 while he was in jail. The investigation into that Snapchat
proved the Snap was sent by Connor Gibaratz, Remington’s best friend and witness to
the murder, and it was sent from Gibaratz home address. Defense’s argument fails for
two reasons:
1) The “piece of evidence” was nothing more than a screenshot of an alleged Snap from
the defendant’s account. It was not an actual Snap seen within the app; it was third
party hear say. Beth Hand saw the screenshot and told us to send it to Balog to
investigate. She had no obligation to share any of this with the defense because there
was nothing about the screenshot that was reliable or exculpatory.
2) A Snapchat sent by someone other than the defendant while he was in jail in
September has no weight as to the reliability of the Snapchats sent from his account the
night of the murder six months earlier. That Snapchat “undermines” nothing of the
basis for bind-over.
KEAST: It's very complicated. (Page 9.23)
Keast misleads Judge Valentine again that this case its very complicated and falsely
accuse Beth Hand for misconduct. All Hand was argued and settled at the preliminary
exam by Judge Reeds. There is nothing complicated or unreliable about Snapchat
records. Not only were the records validated by Judge Reeds, but the records were
again certified and authenticated at the request of Judge Hubbard in a Zoom call by
Steven Dufresne, Law Enforcement Outreach Lead for Snapchat Inc
(stephen@snap.com) and Becca Haciski, Senior Counsel for Safety and Law
Enforcement at Snap Chat Tel : 410-746-6138 (rhaciski@snapchat.com).
14. March 2, 2021: Per Keast Motion Pg 2
Keast: “Phone conversation occurred between undersigned A.P.A. and defense counsel.
nor did former A.P.A. Hand disclose the contents of those reports to him”
Keast knows the supplemental report was never created before January 21 2021.
15. March 3, 2021: Per Keast Motion Pg 2
Keast “Undersigned A.P.A. confirmed defense counsel's assertion that those reports
Court.”
were not included in any proof of service filed with either the District or the Circuit
16. March 5, 2021: Per Keast Motion Pg 2
Keast “Undersigned A.P.A. had a phone conversation with defense counsel. Undersigned
A.P.A. stipulated to the bond order signed by this Court on March 9, 2021, and
suggested a remand to the District Court to cure any defect/violation incurred by
4Keast again failed to inform the court the facts and details pointed out previously
regarding the police reports. No “cure” was required because there were no
“defect/violation” incurred because nothing was improperly undisclosed by APA Hand.
17. March 9, 2021, Bond modified from $1 million under false pretenses.
Judge Valentine Bond Motion Transcript Page 3.22-25; 4.1-25; 5.1-2)
KEAST: “Yes, Judge. As the Court knows, I was assigned the case in January of this year. I
spoke with Mr. Rockind a number of times regarding some issues regarding discovery I
did discover from the beginning, in January, obtained a copy of the police report from
beginning to end, and sent it to defense counsel. I think January the 28th of 2021, are
what my notes reflect. Counsel and co-counsel, Randy Lewis, went through the
discovery. They made me aware last Tuesday night that there were two reports in
particular that were not turned over to defense. It appears that those two reports were
in the prosecutor's office possession in September or October of 2019. In my opinion,
those two reports are exculpatory in nature and should have been turned over in a
timely fashion.
They were not. I believe Mr. Rockind and his office may be filing a motion regarding
that. I have suggested my own remedy to Mr. Rockind. That is included in the stipulated
order, Judge. In my opinion, a remand, at a minimum, is necessary in this case. That will
cause further delay to this case being adjudicated. Defendant has been in custody; I
believe since the beginning of this case. In my opinion, the delay, at this point moving
forward, is attributable to the State. So because of that, I do believe that a stipulated
order to the effect that was submitted to this Court is appropriate in this case. I have
informed the officer in charge, as well as the victim's mother, of the decision that we
have made. They both understand the situation that we're in, Judge.
Keast lied to the court about the two reports. The last police report Beth Hand had in
her file was created June 6, 2019 (per the FOIA request). If, as Keast asserts, the
Prosecutor’s office had the reports since September or October 2019, why did he need
to go and get them from the Novi Police created in January 28 2021? When he asked
Beth Hand about the reports, she told him that she never received them. He told her
they were emailed to her by Balog. In fact, Beth Hand addressed this in an email to
Linda Thom saying “I did not know about that snap prior to the preliminary
examination and once I knew about the snap I told you to tell Balog and asked Balog to
investigate the origin of the snap and if it was real etc. I did not receive the report from
Balog following that request and if I would have, I would have turned it over to the
Defendant's attorney." Beth Hand and our family have challenged Keast to produce the
email. He has never produced an email nor any other shred of evidence that the reports
were in the Prosecutor’s possession before he got them from Balog on January 28, 2021
(Note, the date/time stamp on the report he retrieved from Balog is January 28, 2021,
at 3:15PM). If they did exist, why didn’t Keast present to Judge Valentine those reports,
but instead gave her the ones created January 2021? Because they didn’t exist.
Also on March 14, 2024, we met with Chief Erik Zinser of the Novi Police. During this
recorded meeting, Chief confirmed every police report, when issued, is date/time
5stamped, and the stamp cannot be modified. He also told us neither Prosecutor nor the
court system have access to their files. They must be printed and handed over. If the
reports had been provided at any time before January 2021, the date/time stamp would
indicate when. Keast knew all of this but wanted to destroy this case with lies
Keast also described the reports as “exculpatory” when, in fact, the evidence proves the
opposite. The evidence suggests obstruction of justice by the defendant and his best
friend, Connor Gibaratz, who was also a co-conspirator in the murder and cover up.
The GEO data included in the Snapchat warrant identifies Connor Gibaratz’s home
address as the location from where the Snap originated. In addition to the GEO data,
transcripts from the same warrant show Gibaratz identifying himself as the person
using Remington’s account. Keast knew all of this but withheld the evidence from the
court.
Keast also lied about speaking with us about his decision. He never spoke to Linda
about letting the defendant out of jail over two police reports that didn’t exist. If the
police report had existed, and were given to the previous APA, Beth Hand, she would
have filed obstruction of justice charges against the eyewitness, Connor Gibaratz.
Keast had all this evidence but withheld it from Judge Valentine.
18. April 9, 2021: APA Marc Keast make false statements:
Keast response to defendant’s supplement motion to quash and dismiss with prejudice.
Keast statements in his motion are all fabricated: PG 3
“Supplemental report #10 details a conversation between Ms. Linda Preka (decedent's
mother), former A.P.A. Hand (married name of Wiegand) and the officer in charge of the
investigation. See Exhibit .1 That report reflects that Ms. Preka was shown a snapchat
message sent on the Defendant's account "Hulkolas," while the Defendant was
incarcerated in the Oakland County Jail. According to the report, Ms. Preka showed that
snapchat message to both A.P.A. Hand and Detective Balog. As stated, it does not appear
that the supplemental report." (All in yellow its fabrication from Keast)
The Police report states:
"On 09/27/2019 The preliminary exam was held on this matter at 52-1 District Court.
After the hearing, the Oakland County Prosecutor, Beth Wiegand was shown a new
SNAP Chat on Nick Remington’s (HULKOLAS) SNAP CHAT account by the victim Preka's
stepfather Jamie Thom. Thom advised Wiegand that he was sent this SNAP CHAT by one
of Denis Preka's friends named Avery Eckert on 09/26/2019.
Judge Reeds already covered the defense claims that his client’s account was hacked.
“Is it possible that someone could hack your account and make messages? Yes. That’s
true. That’s always true. But to assume that, I don’t think that’s rational. Was this
account registered to him, were the messages made by him, that’s the another objection
by the defense. I looked through every single one of these Snaps. Circumstantially, they
clearly identify the username Hulkolas as Mr. Remington. There are references to the
time frame of incarceration as being in jail. As what clearly appears to be a pattern of
drug dealing at various different points there are requests for what appear to be Venmo
payments, where Hulkolas is responding with Nicholas_Remington_1.
There are Snaps where there is an address where Hulkolas is saying, “My addy is in
Northville.” That’s where the defendant’s address is. At one point I think the defendant
let me find it, at one point the defendant actually gives the street address in Northville
6of the house, so yes.
All of those circumstantial facts could be made up by someone, but I think the more
rational interpretation of all the context of these is that the Hulkolas is Mr. Remington.
I think it would be a defiance of reason to think otherwise. They’re incomplete; you’re
absolutely right they’re incomplete. But that doesn’t mean that what’s in there is wrong,
it just means it’s not complete. If you got a medical record and four pages of the medical
records were not there that wouldn’t mean that none of the medical records were
admissible, but only that there were holes in that and that would go, in my opinion, to
weight. Obviously higher and better minds will look at it, but I just don’t see any
legitimate argument that this is not Mr. Remington’s account and that the statements
made there are somehow inherently untrustworthy just because they’re not totally
complete.
April 14, 2021 CLICK HERE FOR Judge Valentine Transcript Motion to Dismiss
Keast and Karen McDonald were present at this hearing. McDonald and Keast both
evidence provided by Novi Detective Balog in January, that report contained
inculpatory evidence, not exculpatory. They both misled Judge Valentine and withheld
the evidence proving who used Remington’s account while he was in jail. (Page 25.9-11;
27.9-22; 28.2-4)
Keast’s statements are all false. What Beth Hand saw on September 27, 2019, after the
hearing, was a screenshot of what she was told was a Snapchat from Remington’s
account. It was not the actual Snap being viewed in the application (Mr. Thom is not a
Snapchat user). The screenshot was texted to Mr. Thom by a friend of Denis’. Hand
could not know what she was looking at was truly a Snapchat post. All she had was
hearsay from a third party. Beth Hand had no obligation to turn anything over to
defense until the screenshot could be investigated and deemed a) an authentic Snapchat
and b) exculpatory. As it turned out, and as discussed previously, the facts regarding
the Snap were inculpatory, not exculpatory. Since the evidence was inculpatory and
Keast knew it was not exculpatory, the Prosecution never had any obligation under
Brady to disclose it in discovery.
Keast misled the court by saying “Hand and the detective on September the 27th, 2019,
as they were leaving the courthouse.” Balog wasn’t there and Keast fabricated all of this.
Keast: I absolutely agree with Mr. Rockind that this evidence should have been turned
over in 2019. There is no argument there. Now, this evidence appears to have been
disclosed to assistant prosecuting attorney Beth Hand and the detective on September
the 27th, 2019, as they were leaving the courthouse of the 52-1 District Court after the
first date of preliminary examination.
That should have been turned over immediately, but it wasn't. Judge Reeds continued
the examination October the 16th, 2019. At that examination, Mr. Rockind did not have
the benefit of learning this exculpatory information so he couldn't make a motion to
reopen proofs. I believe he should. That is why I'm suggesting that this case go back to
the district court and the district court judge now have the opportunity to hear the
defense arguments in this matter, Judge. I can't argue that there was a violation, Judge,
because there was. There's no doubt about that.
7April 15, 2021 Judge Valentine Transcript Pretrial
Keast misleads Judge Valentine, knowing the police reports were created after Beth
Hand left office. Again, Keast commits misconduct by withholding from the court all the
evidence within Snapchat Zip file.
Judge Valentine: (Indiscernible) with the Snapchat. I mean, there needs to be -there
needs to be complete transparency with regard to any and all discovery, any and all
information. You know, going back a year and a half to make police reports and notes,
I'm not satisfied with. And I'm not satisfied with regard to the review, you know,
ensuring that everything was looked for and turned over. And it's not that I have any
information, it's only, Mr. Keast, that you weren't able to honestly answer questions,
which I sincerely appreciate from your office, that you've been completely, you know,
transparent. And, you know, I see a very bright road ahead with regard to how things
are going to change and be done differently. And your honesty with regard to not
having requested certain information from witnesses, etc., is refreshing, but I need to
make sure that both of our functions, all of our functions in the judicial system are
upheld for the entire public. So I want to make sure that there is enough sufficient time
for you, sir, to satisfy yourself and to present an affidavit that everything has been
searched for and that there has been – anything that's in your custody or control has
been turned over.
KEAST: I appreciate that, Judge.
May 18, 2021 Judge Valentine Transcript Status Conference (Page 10.21-22; 11.12-18)
Judge Valentine’s basis for quashing the Snapchat evidence is based on Keast’s
misconduct. Marc Keast withheld the evidence and lied to Judge Valentine. Beth Hand
did not have “information otherwise.” Valentine asserts that Beth Hand knew the
Snapchat account was not in Remington’s control but was being used “at the time
arguments were being made.” The information she had, that someone sent Mr. Thom a
screenshot of an alleged Snapchat that allegedly came from Remington’s account, was
only enough to start an investigation, nothing more than that, and that is exactly what
happened. Judge Valentine is parroting the defenses argument that if a Snap came from
Remington’s account while he was in jail, that means Snapchat is unreliable and should
be quashed. That is absurd to the extreme and is not backed by any precedent ruling.
This is a case of the weight of the evidence, i.e. Defense must convince a jury the Snaps
sent the night of the murder weren’t sent by Remington (including the admission of
guilt), not a case of admissibility of the evidence, i.e., the jury won’t even be able to
know about the Snaps. If Keast and Karen McDonald hadn’t withheld the evidence from
Judge Valentine on April 14, 2021, she never would have come to this decision.
Judge Valentine: I will tell you that the Snapchat information will be excluded.
I understand, and it's cited as the fact that it is a remedy with regard to the Brady
violation, I'm more -I would say in my mind it was more the thought process of it just
can't be reliable based upon the arguments that Ms. Hand was making to the court at
the exact same time that she had information otherwise. It's just not reliable, in my
opinion.
Judge Valentine: Page 13 (9-18) With regard to, you know, Snapchat, it's not that they're
always unreliable. You can, you know, have someone testify as to the issues with regard
8to if it's their account, etc., and that they had control over it. That's not what happened
here. That's just absolutely what flies in the face of deceit to the Court, is that it was not
in the control of the defendant at the time that the arguments were being made. And
that was the majority of the basis for the argument that Ms. Hand was making. And
you'll see the citations in the opinion.
May 18, 2021 Judge Valentine Opinion-Order Page 3-4-5
Judge Valentine’s ruling, the entire basis of her decision is based on misconduct and
misinformation provided by the Peoples APA Marc Keast.
A) Hand “intentionally” withheld evidence. There is no proof of this, but Judge
Valentine believes it to be true because of Marc Keast’s lies.
B) “much of the evidence withheld by Ms. Hand is exculpatory.” Hand did not withhold
any exculpatory evidence. All the evidence was, in fact, inculpatory, and she is under no
obligation to provide inculpatory evidence to Defense.
C) Judge Valentine is upset with Beth Hand because she believed that during the
preliminary exam Hand was telling the court all the Snap evidence provided to Defense
included the Snap from Remington’s account on September 26, 2019, while he was in
jail. That is not what Hand was referring to. She was referring to the Snaps included in
the first Snapchat warrant. She wasn’t referring to the alleged Snap from Remington’s
account on September 26, 2019, because the “Snap” had not yet even been verified.
Judge Valentine “Due to discovery concerns, on January 6, 2021, Defendants' counsel
served a letter pursuant to Brady v Maryland', which addressed potential due process
and discovery violations committed by former Assistant Prosecutor Hand. Current
Assistant Prosecutor, Mr. Keast, immediately addressed the issues set forth in the letter.
His response confirmed that Ms. Hand intentionally failed to produce a significant
amount of discoverable evidence. As conceded by the current prosecutor's office, much
of the evidence withheld by Ms. Hand is exculpatory.”
“The concealed evidence includes, but is not limited to, a September 26, 2019
"Snapchat" from a "Hulkolas" account, which was allegedly the name of Defendant's
snapchat account. The Snapchat account and its messages are at the center of the issues
in this case.
Ms. Hand's failure to produce the discovery and blatant misrepresentation to the Court
at the preliminary exam, is nothing short of intolerable due process violations.”
“The information that has now been provided shows CR No. 190015581-010, created
by Det. Balog, that on 9/27/2019 (Start date of the Preliminary Examination) former
Assistant Prosecutor Hand was provided a Snapchat that was sent on 9/26/2019 from
the "Hulkolas" account. The undisclosed "snap" was shown to former Assistant
Prosecutor Hand by Jamie Thom, the decedent's step-father. The Snapchat stated, "To al
5,000 of you beautiful motherfuckers I need ketamine, who got? Thanks, nick".
Defendant Nick Remington, however, was in jail on 9/26/2019 and did not have access
to Snapchat or this "Hulkolas" account from jail. This evidence is in direct contravention
of the claim of the assistant former prosecutor. This evidence was not produced until
2021 when the current Assistant Prosecutor, Mr. Keast, tendered the discovery to
Defense counsel.”
July 21, 2021: Judge Valentine remands the case to District Court.
9August 26, 2021, Keast removes the bond
Keast came up with a remedy that completely removed the $1,000,000 cash bond after
Judge Valentine had reduced it to $10,000. Defense had on several occasions before
argued for a reduction, but they were denied and the bond upheld by four previous
officials: Magistrate Andrea Richardson, Judge Reeds, Judge Alexander and Judge
Valentine.
October 20 2021: Probable Cause Conference Judge Law Canceled
November 17 2021 Probable Cause Conference-Judge Law Transcript
Keast: "Any Time in February I’m open"
February 2, 2022, Interview Connor Gibaratz
Marc Keast intentionally interviews Conor Gibaratz with full knowledge he was the one
who helped Remington get away with murder. He was an eyewitness to his best
friend’s crime, someone who was capable and willing to obstruct justice by using
Remington’s account while he was in jail, he admitted to others he would never turn on
Remington, and he was a party in the civil case who pled the 5th to every question asked
by the plaintiff’s attorney. I wonder if you need to be smarter than a 3rd grader to
understand Keast’s manipulative little brain. Judge Valentine does not understand how
the criminal mind works, and two disgraceful attorneys, Neil Rockind and Marc Keast,
should have their licenses revoked for lying to the court.
February 10 2022 Preliminary Examination new date
February 18, 2022: Letter about dismissing the Case
February 23, 2022, Keast files petition to nolle prosequi
Keast and McDonald always intended to dismiss the case, and their plan B was to go
back to circuit court was just an excuse for Judge Valentine. This was their plan from
the start and of course Neil Rockind continues feeding Karen McDonald’s campaign on
my family’s pain and her hands are covered in blood.
February 25 2022 Judge Law Probable Cause Conference
February 25, 2022, Email Keast: NO REPLY
March 8 2022 FOIA Request & March 22 FOIA Received from Oakland County
On this day I discovered about the 2 police reports never existed and Keast lied to the
court about APA Hand. Keast on March 9, 2021, Bond Motion
“It appears that those two reports were in the prosecutor's office possession in September
or October of 2019. In my opinion, those two reports are exculpatory in nature and should
have been turned over in a timely fashion.
”
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