BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Monday afternoon the U.S. Attorney’s office asked a federal judge to add protections for the families of Nicole Plaud and Miguel Valentin-Colon, who found in a burned-out minivan in Buffalo's Riverside neighborhood in the fall of 2019.
The government said data exists from their phones that includes personal information that could be used to harm the loved ones of the victims by one of the six defendants who were indicted for their murders.
All six of the suspects have been locked up on federal drug charges since late last September.
Based on the Crime Victims Act, the government is opposed, without this protective order in place, to turning over certain items of discovery to defense counsel.
A judge denied the U.S. Attorney's motion for the protective order, and the defense will have access to the data containing personal information.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for January 2021.
