Donna Thorngren and Curtis Thorngren

As seen on Season 23 of Oxygen's Snapped, Donna Thorngren was arrested for the murder of her husband, Curtis. Her son, Austin, was also arrested. Her alleged motive was life insurance policies. It is entirely possible to be convicted based on circumstantial evidence when you are not actually guilty. Her children have created a website supporting her freedom, however this is no longer available. You can read the article here.

Her appeal includes (see link):
Donna Thorngren's husband, Curtis, was murdered on January 12, 2003. A grand jury indicted Donna for Curtis' murder and indicted her son, Austin, as an accessory to murder. Donna and Austin were to be tried in a joint proceeding. However, Donna filed a pretrial motion to sever her trial from Austin's, claiming a joint trial would violate her Confrontation Clause rights. Specifically, the State sought to introduce a statement Austin made to his friend, Adam Ketterling, tending to incriminate his mother in the murder. If admitted, the statement would arguably violate Donna's Confrontation Clause rights should Austin invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to testify. The statement occurred after a conversation between Donna and Austin in a shed outside Donna's mother's home on the day Curtis was murdered, but before his body was discovered. Ketterling entered the shed shortly after Donna left ¹ and found Austin visibly shaken. When Ketterling asked Austin what was wrong, he said “I think my mom did it.” This statement is referred to as the “shed statement.” Upon further questioning of Ketterling at the grand jury hearing, Ketterling testified he believed this statement meant “she [Donna] killed his dad [Curtis] that morning.”

Donna's motion to sever was heard on April 19, 2007, and at the conclusion of the hearing the district court ruled that it would sever Austin's and Donna's trials. In the context of deciding the Confrontation Clause issue, the court stated the shed statement “would not be admissible as against Donna” as an excited utterance because it was in response to a question.

Links

Murder of Curtis ‘Curt’ Thorngren by his wife, Donna Thorngren, featured on Til Death Do Us Part

Thorngren Kids Create Web site To Clear Donna

You can write to her at:

Donna Thorngren #87305
POCATELLO WOMAN'S CORRECTIONAL CENTER/ UNIT 05
1451 Fore Road
Pocatello, Idaho 83205