Defense attorney Thomas Connolly bid Wednesday to submit an episode of the ABC news program Nightline into evidence in the sensational trial of three Dupont Circle men accused of covering up the 2006 murder of D.C. attorney Robert Wone.

“If there’s another voice that sounds like Maureen Bunyan, that’s relevant,” argued Connolly. Weeks ago, a neighbor to the defendants, witness William Thomas, testified that he heard a scream coming from his neighbors’ home at 1509 Swann Street NW on the night Robert Wone was stabbed to death in the defendants’ guest room.

Based on the fact that the other thing Thomas heard at that time was his wife watching WJLA-TV newscaster Maureen Bunyan—”I know her voice after all these years,” said Thomas, who added that he’s been watching Bunyan since back when the anchorwoman was on Channel 9—Thomas estimated that the scream happened sometime during Bunyan’s regular nightly newscast, between 11 and 11:30 p.m.  That creates a problem for the defense, as the defendants didn’t place a 911 call about the incident until 11:49 p.m., giving them ample time to concoct the alleged murder/cover-up plot of which they’re accused.

But Connolly hopes a DVD of the Nightline broadcast for that evening will prove that at 11:45 p.m., for seven minutes, a female voice was broadcasted on Nightline. Connolly hopes to suggest that Thomas mistook that voice for Bunyan’s. If the judge buys that notion, the 11:49 p.m. call to 911 better lines up with the defendants’ narrative of events that fateful night.

The judge ruled that a portion of the Nightline broadcast would be included as evidence.

Defendants Joseph Price, Dylan Ward and Victor Zaborsky are charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection to Wone’s death. Price also faces charges of tampering with evidence. The trio insist that an unknown intruder broke into their home and killed their friend Wone. Investigators believe the three men know the killer and are covering up to protect him.