Motion: Seal records in Landing murder case

Man accused of killing Chicago Bears fan inside restaurant

Matthew Hinson makes his first appearance in court.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A defense motion in the case of a man accused of cutting the throat of a Chicago Bears fan at the Jacksonville Landing in October, killing him, aims to prevent a number of evidence items from being released to the media.

Channel 4 filed an open records request, and the defense wants to seal the court records in the case against Matthew Hinson.

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DOCUMENT: Defense motion to seal records

According to the motion, Hinson's lawyer doesn't want phone records, text messages, surveillance video of Hinson's arrest, the 911 call, his police interrogation, or supplementary reports of the crime released, saying it will harm Hinson's right to a fair trial.

William Christopher Pettry

Hinson faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of 42-year-old William "Chris" Pettry (pictured, right). Pettry, of Illinois, was visiting Jacksonville for the Bears-Jaguars game and was at Fionn MacCool's Irish Restaurant and Pub the night before.

Investigators said Hinson apparently became jealous and enraged when he saw his wife talking with Pettry at the restaurant. They said he "calmly and cold-bloodedly" cut Pettry's throat, then walked out and drove away.

Pettry was a father of three young children.

While Pettry's widow claims she's only receiving timely information on the case from news media, Hinson's defense team wants discovery materials kept out of sight from the media.