PITTSFIELD — A woman accused of misleading police in the Joanne “Jo” Ringer case is seeking interview recordings, photographs and other evidence from the state.
Laura Reilly, 42, of Easthampton, is the only person to be charged in Ringer’s March 2 disappearance. She has been indicted by a Berkshire grand jury and has entered not guilty pleas to three counts of misleading a police officer for allegedly giving inconsistent statements to police on at least four interviews in the case.
Her attorney, Jesse Adams of Northampton, filed a discovery motion Nov. 16 in Berkshire Superior Court requesting 11 pieces of specific evidence.
Included in the request are all audio recordings of police interviews with Reilly, as well as any notes taken during those interviews, video surveillance, photographs taken by police in the case, the lead investigator’s notes and any evidence that could exonerate Reilly.
As of Monday, the state had filed no response.
Ringer, who would have turned 40 in January, remains missing and is presumed to have been killed by her late husband, Charles “Chad” Reidy, who police say was formerly Reilly’s boyfriend. Reidy was found dead of an apparent suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of the couple’s Clarksburg home on April 7 after he had become the target of the investigation and its sole suspect.
Before Reidy’s death, police attached a GPS tracker to his car and culled phone and surveillance data in hopes of gleaning information regarding Ringer’s fate and whereabouts.
Ringer was expected to start her first shift working as a driver for an Easthampton taxi company on March 2, but never arrived.
Reidy did not report her missing to police until two days later.
Ringer’s abandoned car was found parked in Easthampton on March 6 and, according to court documents, investigators believe Reidy disposed of Ringer’s car in Easthampton in an effort to misdirect authorities.
Adams has said Reilly had “nothing to do” with Ringer’s disappearance.
But prosecutors allege she gave police contradictory information about meeting Reidy in Northampton, and how he got back to Clarksburg.
Police said Reilly’s information hindered the investigation.
Meanwhile, Ringer’s family and friends have continued to enlist the help of the public, mostly through social media, in an effort to maintain awareness of the case and to solicit tips.
Private investigator Sarah Stein, who works with the Center for the Resolution of Unresolved Crimes, began assisting with the search for Ringer in June.
A pretrial hearing in Reilly’s case had been scheduled for Nov. 29 in Berkshire Superior Court, but was rescheduled to Jan. 11.