a utah judge has just made a ruling about whether a 12-year-old girl can testify against her own father in a murder trial of the mother who was killed. ada macneill was six years old when she found her mother, michele, nearly dead in the bathtub. that was back in 2011. the defense argued that that little girl was tainted by her very big sister alexis with whom she had been living. dr. macneill unfortunately does not have the support of alexis. jean casarez is live. i understand it court just got back in session. what s the ruling? are we going to see ada macneill march up onto the stand at 12 years old? reporter: yes, we will. but it is not the ruling that the prosecution wanted. this is a case of first impression for the state of
a family tragedy playing out in a utah courtroom. a doctor martin macneill accused of drugging and killing his wife and the key prosecution witnesses could be his own daughters. miguel marquez is in provo, utah, following all the latest developments this morning. good morning, miguel. good morning, kate. this is a sad and sordid tale. the macneills had eight kids, four biological, four adopted. they are expected to be the star witnesses. we know of at least three at this point, possibly more that will now testify for the prosecution. reporter: the first up as soon as thursday, expected to be 12-year-old ada macneill, only 6
only gone for a short period of reporter: macneill s alibi, he was at work when his wife fell in the tub. prosecutors say they have evidence to the contrary. now, the level of sadness in this family seems to know no end. they have a son, damian who killed himself in 2010. also expected to testify, perhaps this week is a woman named gypsy willis, the alleged mistress of macneill. she s also the alleged motivation for the murder. chris, kate, back to you. i ll tell you, miguel, not an easy one to report on. so many different layers of pain as you were saying. it will be difficult to unravel in court. that s why we ll be covering it so carefully. let s take a break right now. coming up, kathleen sebelius speaking out. new information on the problems with the website rollout. what s being done to fix it and why she isn t resigning. the question is may she have to leave anyway? we ve been following the case of a little girl found in a
killing his wife, first responders describing martin macneill as belligerent and destructive. miguel marquez is in provo with more. the macneills are eight children total, four biological, four adopted. the children are expected to be the star witness against their own father. at the moment we have three children testifying for the prosecution. today the children of dr. martin macneill, a step closer to testifying against their own father. prosecutors say the first up as soon as thursday expected to be 12-year-old ada macneill. only 6 when she discovered her dying mother. he want ada to testify because she has an important story to tell as part of the big story here. she was the first witness to find her mother in the bathtub. reporter: the defense counters ada should not testify, not a reliable witness they say
as investigators used her older sister alexis during repeated interviews. alexis was doing the other interviewing and investigators were saying ask her this, ask her that. that s highly improper. reporter: prosecutors already called several first responders. martin macneill was agitated to the point of distraction as they desperately tried to save his wife s life. he was hysterical. blurting out things like, why did you have to have the surgery? why are you on so many medications? why god. reporter: prosecutors contend the drama was an act and that it was macneill pressuring his wife to get a face lift and using a deadly combination of prescription drugs post surgery to kill her. he made a comment she had overdozed on her pain medication and also a comment about slipping in the tub and hitting her head. he also indicated that he was