Judge Tom Yeager will preside over the seating of a grand jury in St. Tammany Parish, LA, which will determine if Amanda Gutweiler Hypes is re-indicted in connection with the 2001 Tioga house fire that claimed the lives of her three children. Hypes’ 2002 indictment was thrown out in 2006 when the judge said that the lead prosecutor with the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office had erred in showing secret grand jury proceedings to a fire expert witness.
Hypes’ attorney, Mike Small, has said the expert witnesses expected to testify before the grand jury are “absolutely convinced the fire is not arson.”