Court documents newly obtained by Forum News Service show the man who was acquitted in the 1981 brutal murder of his girlfriend, 18-year-old Karla Jo Nieland, at a farm party had first asked a judge to dismiss second-degree murder charges on the grounds that he did not intend to kill her.

The newly obtained Minnesota Supreme Court documents relate to appeals the defense team filed prior to the trial of John Keep. They argue damage to Nieland caused by the horsehoe ring Keep wore on his right hand shows Keep made “backhand slaps," not "bludgeoning blows."

Keep's legal team also argued he was drunk and not in a state of mind to kill Nieland.

In addition to arguments that Keep should not stand trial for second-degree murder, his legal team also appealed to have him tried as a juvenile, based on arguments that he wasn’t a threat to the public.

Keep was 17 years old at the time of Nieland's death.

Full story: https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/karla-jo-nieland-was-murdered-at-a-1981-minnesota-farm-party-now-new-documents-reveal-complexities-in-case

Written and narrated by Trisha Taurinskas