BLOOMINGTON - Attorneys for Bloomington dog groomer Denise Read want a jury to hear the results of a polygraph test taken by Read in connection with accusations that she tried to poison a competitor's dogs. | Defense motion: Tainted meat as evidence (PDF) | Defense motion: Lie detector (PDF)

Read was charged in October with intimidation, criminal damage to property over $300 and cruel treatment to animals. Read, 45, is owner of Deenie's Bed and Biscuit in Bloomington.

Tim Bowling told police in September that Read was seen throwing a bag over the fence of an exercise yard outside his business, Canine Design, on South Bunn Street. Court records indicate that meat found in the yard tested positive for a substance contained in anti-freeze.

Two of Bowling's dogs became ill the day after eating the meat and were treated by a veterinarian.

The defense contends that Bowling is responsible for poisoning the dogs because he wants to financially ruin a competitor.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the defense asks that results of a polygraph taken by Read on April 28 be allowed as evidence at Read's trial. Defense lawyer Jason Cannell states in his motion that Read agreed to a Bloomington police request to take a lie detector test but the test was never scheduled.

The defense arranged for Decatur polygraph examiner Mark J. Cheviron to administer two tests that included 14 questions related to the criminal case. Read denied harming Bowling's dogs, a position she has held since charges were filed.

Cheviron's opinion is that Read was truthful during the examination.

"It's not a common issue that comes up where a defendant actually passes the polygraph," Cannell said of the effort to bring the test results into the trial.

If the judge does not allow the polygraph, Cannell has asked that the state be barred from making any references to the invitation they made to conduct a test with Read.

Bowling said Tuesday that he is willing to take a polygraph test, if asked.

Not allowing the tainted meat?

In a separate motion filed by the defense, Cannell has asked that prosecutors be barred from introducing the tainted meat as evidence. He said Bloomington police failed to secure the meat and allowed Bowling to keep it, making the evidence subject to tampering.

The meat was taken to a local veterinarian and later submitted to a lab at the University of Michigan.

A 911 call made by Bowling after the Sept. 18 incident provided Bowling with an opportunity to lace the meat with anti-freeze, Cannell argues.

The dispatcher asked Bowling if he thought anti-freeze was in the meat, said Cannell.

"Then lo and behold, after police leave the bag and its contents with Bowling-antifreeze turns up in the hamburger. Things that make you go Hmmmm. Of all the potential contaminants, the odds are astronomical that the operator happened to guess exactly what was in the meat. It is obvious that Bowling later added anti-freeze to the meat-matching up what was prompted by the 911 operator," Cannell alleges in court documents.

A hearing is set for Thursday in Read's case. Cannell said he plans to tell the judge that the defense has finished its investigation and is ready for trial.