The trial of Sean M. Higgins, the man charged with vehicular homicide and related crimes for fatally striking National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, as they biked in New Jersey is scheduled to begin in 2027.
Higgins, 45, will appear in Salem County Court in January for the opening of what is expected to be a three-week proceeding, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio said Monday. Jury selection begins in early December.
The looming trial comes as Higgins’ defense team continues to push the state to produce evidence they say may potentially aid their arguments.
In September, Higgins’ lawyers filed a motion compelling prosecutors to clarify whether there were additional documents tied to the official New Jersey State Police crash investigation, suggesting officers could have made notes that did not appear in the final report they received during discovery.
Prosecutors objected, saying the notes were drafts that, if anything, reflected grammatical rather than substantive changes to information that could potentially be used in court.
But the exchange nonetheless triggered the release of a trove of documents this month detailing how police reconstructed of the fatal Oldmans Township collision — including previously unseen photos captured from the crash site.
Months after the fatal August 2024 crash, a grand jury indicted Higgins on two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular manslaughter, two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and fleeing the scene of a fatal crash.
Prosecutors said Higgins had a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit when he attempted to pass an SUV on the right in his Jeep Grand Cherokee, striking Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, as they cycled home from their sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner.
Police found Higgins about a quarter-mile from the County Route 551 crash scene, his damaged vehicle stalled. He told them he had consumed about a half-dozen beers that day, some behind the wheel.
Higgins pleaded not guilty to the crimes. His attorney, Richard F. Klineberger III, argued that the Gaudreau brothers, themselves intoxicated, contributed to their own deaths by consuming alcohol that evening and cycling in the dark without rear safety lights.
Silvanio rejected that argument last year when he denied Higgins’ request to dismiss or reduce the charges.
It was not the last time such an effort would be made.
In May, Silvanio again said the case would stand after rejecting a defense theory that prosecutors had misled the grand jury about Higgins’ blood alcohol content and that it may have actually been slightly below the legal limit.
Klineberger, speaking Monday in Silvanio’s courtroom to discuss his latest motion, said the goal was to identify which state police notes contributed to the crash investigation and whether they reflected information that did not appear in the report.
He also requested that prosecutors identify a man — likely an off-duty police officer — who appeared on a state police sergeant’s body-worn camera at the scene of the crash. The man relayed that the condition of the Gaudreau brothers did not “look good,” according to Klineberger’s recollection of the video.
Prosecutors were insistent they had “nothing else left” to offer Klineberger’s team.
“Everything that is in the final report from the officers, that’s what [witnesses are] going to be testifying to,” Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern said.
Still, Mestern said prosecutors would check whether there were any additional notes and provide any such relevant documentation in the coming days.
Judge Silvanio later asked Higgins if he understood that by going to trial, he would forfeit the right to accept a plea deal. The deal offered would see him admit guilt to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and one count of driving while intoxicated in exchange for 28 years in prison.
Should Higgins be found guilty at trial, he faces up to 91 years in prison.
Higgins said he understood. A trial date was set for Jan. 4.