NEWTON, N.C. — The man accused of sexually assaulting and strangling to death a popular high school counselor in Newton appeared before a judge Monday.
Attorneys for Sharman Odom revealed new evidence found on Maggie Daniels’ body belonged to another man.
Odom was not smiling in court, like he did the day of his arrest.
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For the first time, he also had something to say since prosecutors announced they plan on seeking the death penalty.
Before the hearing got underway, Odom let the judge know he had no plans on sitting while he was in court.
"Mr. Odom, thank you. You can sit down, sir," Judge Greg Hayes said.
"I have to sit?" Odom asked the judge.
"Pardon?" Hayes said.
"I have to sit?" Odom said.
"No, sir. You don't have to sit," the judge told Odom.
"I'm good. I'm good," Odom said.
Odom stood as prosecutors and defense attorneys made three motions in the case.
They included his attorneys wanting evidence preserved in the case to prosecutors asking for nearly $50,000 to test evidence at an out-of-state lab.
But it was a motion to see a Newton police captain's personnel file that is raising new questions.
Odom's attorneys want to know if there's a connection between that captain and Daniel's boyfriend.
They told the judge there was evidence found on Daniels the night she was killed that belonged to her boyfriend, not Odom.
"DNA analysis from the crime scene also showed what appears to be a fresh semen stain in the shorts that Miss Daniels was wearing," Odom’s defense attorney said.
The high-profile case attracted a lot of attention after Daniels, who worked as a counselor at Discovery High School, was found killed inside her apartment.
Weeks later, police arrested Odom, who lived in the same apartment complex, after finding his DNA on a strand of hair at the crime scene.
"It was an eye-opener to what can happen even in a little small town like Newton," resident Roxy Shook said.
The judge plans on reviewing some of those motions made before making a decision.
Odom's attorneys also declined to discuss why they've billed more than $50,000 in fees so far in the case.
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