The man accused of fatally striking NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they rode their bicycles on a New Jersey road in 2024 is now claiming his blood alcohol content was below the legal limit, a move that could force prosecutors to seek a new indictment.
As reported by the NY Post, defense attorney Richard Klineburger told a Salem County Superior Court judge on Tuesday that an expert retained by the defense determined that Sean Higgins' BAC at the time of the crash was .075, not the .087 prosecutors presented. The legal limit is .08.
The difference: twelve thousandths of a percentage point. The implication: a potential unraveling of the state's entire case.
Klineburger's argument hinges on what, exactly, was tested. He told the court that the original sample tested by prosecutors appears to have been blood plasma rather than whole blood, which would produce an inflated reading.
"It seems that it was plasma that was tested, not whole blood."
Based on that distinction, Klineburger said the defense expert pegged Higgins' actual BAC at .075. He then went further, arguing that this discrepancy may have corrupted the grand jury proceedings that led to Higgins' indictment on all counts: "It taints it."
Higgins now wants every charge against him dismissed, and prosecutors forced to seek a fresh indictment from a new grand jury. The charges he faces are serious:
If convicted on all counts, Higgins faces up to 70 years in prison.
Prosecutor Michael Mestern didn't concede anything. He told the court he needed time to run the defense findings by his own experts and investigators, a reasonable response to a claim that, it should be noted, rests entirely on an unnamed defense expert whose report has not been made public.
Judge Michael Silvanio, who presided over the hearing by video, indicated that if prosecutors ultimately conceded the defense's new BAC claims, Mestern would be allowed to try to obtain a new indictment against Higgins. The judge also encouraged both sides to engage in plea negotiations and offered to facilitate those talks if needed.
Klineburger revealed that he had turned over a counter plea offer in response to prosecutors' prior deal of 35 years behind bars. The details of the counteroffer were not disclosed.
Higgins is due back in court on April 14.
None of the legal maneuvering changes the facts of August 29, 2024. Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, were riding their bikes single-file on the shoulder of a road in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. They were in town for their sister's wedding, scheduled for the following day.
Higgins, a 45-year-old Pilesgrove man, struck and killed both of them. He allegedly told officers he had had five or six drinks that day. He pulled over a quarter-mile down the road, where police found him.
He admitted to drinking. Two men are dead. A family preparing for a wedding attended funerals instead.
Johnny Gaudreau played in the NHL for 11 seasons. He was a beloved figure in hockey, a would-be Team USA forward whose absence was felt even at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the U.S. men's team clinched gold against Canada on Sunday. The team honored him during post-win celebrations, and Gaudreau's family was invited to attend the semifinals in Milan.
It is worth being precise about what the defense is actually claiming and what it is not. Klineburger is not arguing that his client didn't kill the Gaudreau brothers. He is not arguing Higgins was sober. The man admitted to drinking five or six drinks that day. He is arguing that a technical distinction between plasma testing and whole blood testing nudges his client's BAC from .087 to .075, just barely below the legal threshold, and that this distinction should wipe the slate clean on every charge.
This is not the first time Higgins has tried to escape the full weight of these charges. He previously lost a bid to have the charges reduced or dropped, during which his defense reportedly argued that the Gaudreau brothers were drunker than he was. The court was unmoved.
Whether or not the BAC was .075 or .087, the charges against Higgins include reckless vehicular homicide, leaving the scene, and evidence tampering. None of those requires the defendant to be above the legal limit for alcohol. A man can be reckless at .075. A man can flee a scene at .075. A man can tamper with evidence at any BAC.
The defense strategy is clever. Attacking the BAC number attacks the foundation of the aggravated manslaughter charge and raises questions about the integrity of the grand jury proceedings. If the prosecution presented a .087 figure derived from plasma rather than whole blood, that is a legitimate problem that the court will need to address.
But a legitimate evidentiary question is not the same as innocence. Two brothers are dead. A man who admitted to drinking struck them while they rode on a road shoulder, then drove a quarter-mile before stopping. The legal system will sort out the blood test. It should not lose sight of the blood on the road.
