Husband's trial in murder-for-hire plot postponed

Jeffrey Stern accused of masterminding plot to kill wife

HOUSTON – A man who has been accused of plotting to have his wife killed will not be going to trial this week as originally scheduled.

Jeffrey Stern has been accused of having his mistress, Michelle Gaiser, hire hit men who botched three attempts on his wife, Yvonne.

Jury selection was supposed to start on Friday, but the judge postponed that to July 27 to give attorneys time to look over new evidence.

"We need more time to conduct an investigation," said Paul Nugent, Jeffrey Stern's attorney. "There's some new issues that have developed and we're going to investigate those. I can't comment on the specifics. It's our duty to do a thorough investigation to revel the truth."

That new evidence suggests that Gaiser was allegedly involved in another murder-for-hire scheme years before the one targeting Yvonne Stern.

The new evidence was turned up by prosecutors, who are required by law to share it with the defense.

If the evidence is credible, Jeffrey Stern's defense team could use it to discredit Gaiser, who is the prosecution's star witness.

Gaiser has already admitted to hiring men to kill Yvonne Stern in 2010. Yvonne Stern was shot in the stomach during the third attempt on her life.

 As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, Gaiser is expected to testify that she was an intermediary for Jeffrey Stern, who prosecutors allege was the mastermind of the plot against Yvonne Stern.