HOMER, MI (WTVB) – The former Calhoun County judge who presided over a Branch County murder trial that gained national attention has died in a farming accident on his property near Homer.
72-year-old Conrad Sindt was killed in the accident that was reported at about 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.
Calhoun County Sheriff Matt Saxton told the Battle Creek Enquirer that Sindt was cutting wood when the accident took place.
According to Saxton, Sindt was trying to pull a tree when another fell on him.
Sindt’s wife found him. She along with first responders tried to perform CPR on him but they were unsuccessfull and Sindt was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sindt served as a judge from 1991 until his retirement in 2015. He was also the Calhoun County prosecutor during the 1980’s.
Sindt presided over both of the Tom Foley murder trails in Branch County. After Foley was convicted, Sindt ordered a new trial based on new evidence after three new witnesses came forward following the guilty verdict.
Foley was found not guilty in the second trial. Sindt’s ruling on the new trial was first upheld by the State Court of Appeals. The Michigan Supreme Court then declined to hear an appeal from then Branch County Prosecutor Terri Norris.
In another high profile case, Sindt twice ordered new trials for Lorinda Swain who who spent seven years in a state prison for a crime she did not commit. She was eventually exonerated of sex charges after exhaustive appeals and reached a settlement with Calhoun County for $1.9-million.
