Fort Worth (KFDX/KJTL) — An appeal filed by Gregory Aaron Bell, who was convicted in 2025 of murder in Saint Jo, was submitted to the Second Court of Appeals on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, following oral arguments at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center.

Bell, 59, of Saint Jo, was convicted in May 2025 and sentenced to life in prison in the death of Tia Hutson, 50, who was found beaten inside her home in Saint Jo in August 2022 and died six days later. It was the first murder case in Saint Jo since 1986, according to KFDX/KJTL.

Bell is currently incarcerated at the McConnell Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Beeville while the appeal is pending.

Bob Estrada, the Wichita Falls defense attorney who represented Bell at trial and is handling the appeal, told the court the case raised two issues: limits placed on cross-examination of technicians who handled evidence, and an exhibit prepared by a defense cell phone expert that was not shown to the jury.

"Your honor, this case is haunting in the respect that Gregory Bell may be actually innocent," Estrada said. "There was error in two ways. The fact that we were unable to cross-examine technicians or experts who actually handled the evidence. Secondly, we feel that we were not permitted to fully defend the case because our cell phone expert was not able to complete all of his, what he could've told the jury."

Justice Wade Birdwell questioned Estrada on the contamination argument, asking whether contamination would show up in the raw data presented at trial.

Katie Boggeman, 97th Judicial District Attorney, argued on behalf of the State. She told the court the DNA forensic scientists who testified had handled the evidence directly, and defended the trial court's decision to exclude the defense exhibit.

"It's not really relevant here because the DNA forensic scientists who testified in this case individually and directly handled the evidence," Boggeman said. She later described the excluded exhibit as "extremely misleading."

Justice Mike Wallach said the record appeared to show the same information had been discussed in front of the jury even without the exhibit.

In closing, Estrada pointed to video he said placed Bell at an Oklahoma casino during part of the night of Hutson's death. Asked by Justice Brian Walker for the specific time, Estrada said he believed it was between 3 and 5 a.m.

Boggeman asked the appellate court to affirm the conviction and life sentence. The Second Court of Appeals will issue a ruling at a later date.

All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.