Updated: 11/19/2009 10:40:30 PM
The legal battle to throw out an accused killer's statements to police will continue next month.
Valentino Miranda is accused of raping and killing Alabama native Jennifer Hampton in Knoxville on September 20, 2008.
Hampton was in Knoxville to help set up a new restaurant.
Miranda and his ex-girlfriend Rosa Hernandez were housekeepers at the Days Inn on Lovell Road where Hampton was staying.
Police believe Miranda used his ex-girlfriend's key card to get into Hampton's room.
Officers investigating Hampton's disappearance at the hotel arrested Miranda for fraudulent documents.
Investigators say Miranda is an illegal immigrant with a fake Social Security card.
Miranda's attorney Joe Fanduzz says his client was arrested without probable cause for forgery, so his statements to police should not be used against him at trial.
In a motion filed in October, Fanduzz blames a law enforcement interpreter for a bad translation of the defendant's Miranda rights.
Fanduzz believes Valentino Miranda made comments to police because he did not understand his rights.
On Thursday, Fanduzz presented part one of his case to Judge Bob McGee, but testimony about the issue will happen on December 15.
At that time, attorneys will hear from the Knoxville Police interpreter, and Fanduzz will also put his own intepreter on the stand.
Judge McGee denied Miranda's motion to reveal Rosa Hernandez's address. Hernandez has already testified against her ex-boyfriend during a preliminary hearing in 2008.
Meanwhile, Miranda's attorney has also filed for a change of venue, saying his client cannot get a fair trial in Knox County due to undue excitement, pre-trial publicity, and prejudice.
Fanduzz also wants to prohibit the prosecution from showing pictures of Hampton, before and after her death.
Miranda is expected to go to trial on January 11, 2010.
