When CPD officers arrested Pring-Wilson at his apartment later that morning, “he did not smell of alcohol, appeared sober and had no injuries.” Pring-Wilson requested medical attention later that day, after he had been questioned and arrested at the police station.

The evidence from the night of the arrest, coupled with Pring-Wilson’s “intelligence and intellectual capacity” demonstrates “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Pring-Wilson voluntarily made false statements to the police.

On the change of venue motion, Grabau was unswayed by a poll commissioned by the defense that showed that 47 percent of 400 randomly-selected Middlesex County residents had heard of the case.

A polling expert testified in April that Middlesex residents were also 4.5 times more likely to believe Pring-Wilson to be guilty than residents from western Massachusetts. In his ruling, Grabau wrote that although many print, broadcast and online news outlets have covered the case, the coverage “cannot be described as emotionally charged or inflammatory.”

In any case, a juror does not have to be ignorant of the case he is deliberating, Grabau wrote, but needs to “lay aside his impression or opinion and render a verdict based on evidence at the trial.” To prevent a biased jury, Grabbau recommended the court question potential trial jurors about pre-trial publicity and give “daily admonitions to the jury about not reading or watching or discussing media accounts regarding the case.”

The trial has been delayed three months following Denner’s withdrawal from the case, and is now scheduled to be heard by Judge Regina C. Quinlan on Sept. 13. Denner could not be reached for comment this week, but a spokesperson for the district attorney said Pring-Wilson, whose parents are both lawyers, has obtained alternative counsel.

Pring-Wilson remains under house arrest in his apartment.

—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.