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BOZEMAN - A Three Forks man who admitted earlier to killing his ex-girlfriend may now withdraw his guilty plea after his attorney raised questions about a "huge problem" he encountered while reviewing the pre-sentence report.

Jay Myran, 38, appeared in court for sentencing Thursday afternoon, but the hearing barely began before Myran's defense attorney, Peter Ohman, put it on hold.

Ohman told Judge Holly Brown he recently received paperwork that included a statement made by Myran's teenage son, Lance, that he hadn't seen prior to his client pleading guilty to deliberate homicide and evidence tampering.

"This is a due process violation the likes of which I have not seen in my 15 years of practice," Ohman told the judge.

The interview with Lance substantiates Jay Myran's story, Ohman said. "Like any other case, we're supposed to have all the evidence and we didn't have it," Ohman said after the hearing.

Based on the different information contained in the interview, compared with an early one, Ohman said he is confident he will be filing a motion to withdraw Jay Myran's guilty plea.

"We wouldn't have made the case if we didn't think it was substantial," Ohman said.

The defense has until Oct. 1 to file a motion to withdraw the guilty plea and county attorney Marty Lambert said after the hearing that he will not object if the defense files to withdraw the plea.

Before adjourning court on Thursday, Brown apologized to the audience, specifically people who traveled distances to attend the sentencing. Two rows of onlookers gathered in the back rows of the courtroom; some hugging and comforting one another as they filed out of room.

Brown did not reschedule Myran's sentencing hearing and is waiting to see if the defense files paperwork to withdraw the guilty plea before setting a new sentencing date.

Back in July, Myran admitted to fatally shooting Gayle Brewster, 53, with a shotgun on May 12, 2009 and pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence.

His change of plea came after his 15-year-old son, Lance Myran, told a judge that his father killed Gayle Brewster and that he helped his father dispose of her body.

Brewster was reported missing in May 2009, but about two weeks later, authorities found her charred remains in a burn barrel outside the home she shared with Myran on Pyfer Road.