Almost two weeks had passed since Jewell Maul and Joyce Gill failed to appear in court for pre-trial conferences, and yet there was somehow a court hearing for both of them yesterday that was not previously announced.
The 38 year old Maul and 63 year old Gill are both charged with financial exploitation of a senior citizen for more than $5,000. Suspicions arose after the mother-daughter team, along with Joyce’s husband and Jewell’s father Robert, took the entire life savings from an account belonging to Robert Gill’s aunt, Norma Notson. The total withdrawal was for nearly $40,000.
According to public Morgan County Court records posted on judici.com, Maul and Gill were both set to appear in court the afternoon of Wednesday, January 9th. The judge currently listed to hear the case is Adam Giganti, an at-large Seventh Circuit judge appointed last May.
Giganti, as well as Special Prosecutor Matt Goetten and both of the defense attorneys, were all absent on the afternoon of January 9th. There were 3 or 4 women that sat outside of the courtroom waiting for anyone to show for the scheduled pre-trial conferences, to no avail.
Mysteriously, records of a brand new hearing for both Maul and Gill was posted yesterday on judici.com, with no warning or public notification of the defendants appearing in court, stating that both defendants were in court yesterday in front of Judge Giganti with all three attorneys present, and that pre-trial conference settings were being postponed, once again, until May 3rd at 11 a.m.
Attorney Carrie Magerl will represent Maul, while Tom Piper is defense counsel for Gill.