Tulsa Judge Will Make Public Evidence From Hilberling High-Rise Murder Case

The judge who presided over the Amber Hilberling murder trial said Thursday he will release some of the evidence that was presented to the jury.

Hilberling was found guilty of pushing her husband to his death from a window in the couple's 25th floor apartment.

The judge's ruling comes after News on 6, The Tulsa World and Dateline NBC filed open records requests to get copies of the exhibits used in the case.

The judge said he would not release the photos showing the victim, Josh Hilberling, after he died from falling out of the Tulsa high-rise. He said he also wouldn't release the crime scene video shot by police that shows Hilberling on the pavement, because of their gruesome nature.

3/18/2013 Related Story: Tulsa High-Rise Death: Amber Hilberling Guilty Of Second Degree Murder

The judge and attorneys for both sides agreed their main concern was preserving the evidence and exhibits for appeal.

In our open records request, we specifically asked for a copy of the videotape of Amber Hilberling and her grandmother talking in a police interrogation room, hours after Hilberling pushed her husband to his death. The two women did not realize they were being recorded, and Hilberling expressed very raw emotion, as her grandmother tried to persuade her not to talk to police, but to get an attorney.

The District Attorney used the tape to try to persuade the jury Hilberling was guilty of murder, while her attorneys used portions of the tape to show that Josh Hilberling's death was a terrible accident and that Amber Hilberling was a grieving widow, who had acted in self-defense.

We also requested photos of Hilberling after the crime, that her attorneys say show fingerprint marks and scratches on Hilberling's shoulder, used during the trial to back up her claim that her husband grabbed her and she pushed him away from her.

3/18/2013 Related Story: Attorney: Amber Hilberling Plans To Appeal Guilty Verdict In High-Rise Death

We also asked the judge to look at shards of the broken glass from the window, after a defense expert testified they were too thin for a high rise and equivalent to what can be used in picture frames.

The judge will make the items available to the media on April 12. The judge also noted the Doctor Phil show has put in a request to interview Amber Hilberling in jail, but that she and her attorney have agreed Hilberling will not give any interviews until after she is sentenced on April 23.

Her attorney will be asking the judge to consider an alternative sentence, rather than the 25 years recommended by the jury, which is legal.

The DA will be arguing for the judge to do what the jury wants.