The man charged with striking and killing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau appeared in court on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2025 for a pre-trial conference.
The man accused of being drunk when his car struck and killed NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew as they biked near their South Jersey hometown appeared in court on Tuesday for a pre-trial conference where his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case.
During the brief court appearance, attorneys for Sean Higgins -- who is charged with vehicular homicide, aggravated manslaughter and related offenses after, officials claim, he struck and killed the Gaudreau brothers on Aug. 29, 2024, while driving in Oldmans Township, Salem County -- also requested additional a report on bloodwork and photographic evidence in the case from prosecutors.
Michael Mestern, of the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, agreed to share the information and asked Higgins' attorneys for a grand jury transcript from them, as well.
Attorneys for Higgins also filed paperwork seeking a report on blood alcohol testing that was done on both brothers and Higgins following the deadly crash.
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A recent court filing from Higgins' attorneys claims the Gaudreau brothers were both found to have a higher blood alcohol concentration -- claiming Johnny's was 0.129% and Matthew's had a slightly higher concentration of 0.134% -- than Higgins at the time they were killed.
Higgins' attorneys previously pointed out that a Sept. 5 report on Higgins' blood alcohol content at the time of crash was .087% -- just above the legal limit.
The motion seeks information on how the blood evidence was collected.
Higgins attorneys also filed a motion to dismiss the case citing a "failure to present exculpatory evidence" to a grand jury in this case.
Dressed in green prison garb, hands shackled in front of his waist, Higgins stood silently throughout the court appearance flanked by his attorneys Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger.
Higgins has been charged in the deaths of the NHL star and his brother as they rode bikes together on the night before their sister's planned wedding.
According to police, the incident happened on Aug. 29, 2024, at 8:19 p.m., as Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were riding their bikes north on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
At that same time, Higgins was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee north on County Route 551, according to investigators.
Officials claim an SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the roadway to safely pass the Gaudreau brothers as they rode on the right side of the road and, in that moment, Higgins attempted to pass that SUV by driving into the right shoulder and striking the brothers.
Higgins rejected a plea deal that would have called for him to spend 35 years behind bars last month.
He turned down that deal and has, instead, plead not guilty for his role in the deaths of the Gaudreau brothers.
Higgins is next expected to appear in court on March 26.
