Petition by young murderer rejected

A petition by Justine Winter to overturn her two homicide convictions has been dismissed for failure to state a claim.

Winter, 19, was convicted in February 2011 of murdering a pregnant woman and her 13-year-old son by intentionally driving head-on into their vehicle on March 19, 2009, north of Kalispell.

Winter claimed that her attorney in the case, David Stufft, was ineffective “for failing to preserve the right of appeal.”

However, according to a Sept. 19 order on her petition, state law requires that such a petition must include a statement from the defendant swearing the included facts are true.

“[Winter’s] petition is not even signed, much less verified. Therefore, it cannot stand,” Flathead District Judge Katherine Curtis wrote in her decision. “Furthermore, [state law] requires that a petition ‘identify all facts supporting the grounds for relief set forth in the petition and have attached affidavits, records, or other evidence establishing the existence of those facts.’”

Curtis went on to write that Winter’s petition did not include a supporting affidavit and that “there are absolutely no facts set forth anywhere in the documents.” She said Winter must file an amended petition satisfying all the legal requirements before any further proceedings can take place.

The petition was withdrawn from Flathead District Court on Oct. 19.

Winter is serving a 15-year prison sentence at the Montana Women’s Prison in Billings, which will be followed by 15 years of probation. She will be eligible for parole in December 2018, after she has served half of her sentence.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.