Alleged killer seeks to have charges dropped in Johnny Gaudreau case

Attorneys for the alleged driver accused of killing NHL superstar Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau have appealed to a Salem County NJ Judge to dismiss charges.

The Judge has denied this motion from the accused attorneys.

Attorneys for the accused, Sean M. Higgins, argued that some, if not all, of the grand jury indictment should be dismissed because the prosecution presented “misleading” blood alcohol evidence to the grand jury, which indicted Higgins in December 2024.

From a report from Hailey Salvian of The Athletic:

Prosecutors have said that Higgins’ blood alcohol level was 0.087 percent, which is above the legal limit for driving, when he allegedly hit and killed the Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bicycles near their childhood home in New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2024.

In February, however, the defense revealed that, according to their expert’s review of the toxicology report, Higgins’ BAC was actually 0.075 percent, which is below the legal limit. The defense has argued that, instead of testing a whole blood sample from Higgins, a sample of his blood serum was used, which led to a higher BAC.

“The grand jury was never given a fair opportunity to evaluate whether the Defendant’s alcohol level actually satisfied the statutory threshold or supported an inference of recklessness,” the defense wrote in a brief last month. “Instead, it was presented with a scientifically inflated number.”

The 45 year old Higgins is facing two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, one count each of tampering with physical evidence (fourth degree) and leaving the scene of a fatal accident (second degree).