A Volusia County judge has denied a motion to move accused killer Luis Toledo out of Volusia and into Seminole County.
Toledo’s attorney Jeff Dean requested his client be released from jail or moved to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford.
On Monday, Judge Margaret Hudson ruled Toledo would continue to be held without bond on second-degree murder charges in Suarez's death of his wife, Yessenia Suarez. Toledo has also been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of 8-year-old Michael and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, Suarez's children from a prior relationship.
Hudson also denied the motion to move Toledo out of the Volusia County Branch Jail.
The bodies of the three victims have been missing since Oct. 22, despite numerous searches around Volusia and Seminole counties.
In court, Dean argued he and Toledo have no privacy when meeting to discuss the case.
"Judge, that's intimidation. It is impossible for us to do our work there," Dean said.
Toledo's lawyer even cited precedent when Troy Victorino, who was found guilty in the Deltona mass murders in 2006, was moved from Volusia to Seminole County.
Meanwhile, Hudson ruled the jail has to take appropriate measures to make sure Toledo and his lawyer have privacy to discuss legal matters.
In her motion, the judge said the cost to move Toledo every time he has a hearing would be too substantial.
Dean also said Monday the state has not turned over documents in a timely fashion, including testimony from the grand jury that indicted Toledo in December for first-degree murder in the children's deaths.
Toledo's next court date is Feb. 18 where he will be arraigned on the two first-degree murder charges.
Toledo has admitted to hitting his wife in the throat during a heated argument, but denied any involvement in his stepchildren's deaths.