Owner of trailer where Chris Bagley was killed takes stand for second day in Blahnik murder trial

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A fourth day of testimony is underway in the murder trial for Drew Blahnik.

He is charged with murder in the death of Chris Bagley in 2018. Prosecutors have started to bring authorities to the stand.

Wednesday morning, Paul Hoff took the stand for a second day of testimony.

He talked about how he owns the trailer where Bagley died, witnessed the murder, and helped hide evidence.

Hoff also said that despite being in and out of custody since he was 11, he’s never cooperated with authorities before. He explained why he is now.

“I’m still torn, but I wanted to do it for Chris you know he deserved that, his family deserved that,” Hoff said.

During cross-examination, the defense claimed Hoff is only participating to get a lighter sentence on his own charges.

Hoff agreed, he’s hoping for a lighter sentence.

Lead Investigator Lt. Dave Beuter with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office was also called to the stand on Wednesday. He said that when Hoff was approached by police, he tried to run, got his vehicle stuck in a snowbank and ended up having to be tased to be taken into custody.

Lt. Beuter also said police found two guns, meth, marijuana and heroine in Hoff’s vehicle, and Chris Bagley’s DNA in Hoff’s trailer.

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