Hannibal murder suspect Manuel G. Cazares wants someone else to oversee his jury trial.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Ted House, who was to have presided at the trial, will consider the request during a hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 9.
The trial was to have begun June 21, but was moved to Nov. 1 because of scheduling conflicts with special prosecutors Page Bellamy and Kevin Zoellner.
The two were appointed to the case after a request was filed with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office by Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Redington.
Cazares, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action in the Feb. 28, 2009, stabbing deaths of 27-year-old Amanda R. Thomas and 25-year-old C. Patrick Epley in Hannibal.
The case was moved to St. Charles County on a change of venue.
On April 6 of this year, House rejected as “too lenient” a plea bargain that would have resulted in a sentence of 30 years in prison had Cazares pleaded guilty.
Family members of the victims objected to the deal, just as they did when a similar plea was offered last December.
The families have maintained that 30 years in prison is not enough for the murders of two people.
If convicted on all counts, Cazares could get up to 90 years behind bars.
Police say Cazares, who fathered a child with Thomas, turned himself in a few hours after the killings.
He reportedly directed investigators to the bodies of Thomas and Epley, who were found in a bedroom at Thomas’ unlocked Hannibal apartment. Epley was a friend of Thomas’ from high school.
During earlier testimony in the case, police reported Cazares confessed to the crime and said that jealousy was his motive. Investigators said Cazares was in America illegally.
Authorities said Cazares and Thomas met in Hannibal.
The suspect told them the two-year relationship ended in fall 2008, but that he and Thomas kept in periodic contact because of their child.
Cazares had several previous run-ins with the law, but always provided what appeared to be legitimate identification to authorities.
The documents later proved to be false.
Thomas had sought three orders of protection against Cazares, but did not enforce the first two.
She died before a hearing could be held on the third.
Cazares was in the Marion County Jail on $1 million cash-only bond.
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Hannibal murder suspect Manuel G. Cazares wants someone else to oversee his jury trial.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Ted House, who was to have presided at the trial, will consider the request during a hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 9.
The trial was to have begun June 21, but was moved to Nov. 1 because of scheduling conflicts with special prosecutors Page Bellamy and Kevin Zoellner.
The two were appointed to the case after a request was filed with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office by Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Redington.
Cazares, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action in the Feb. 28, 2009, stabbing deaths of 27-year-old Amanda R. Thomas and 25-year-old C. Patrick Epley in Hannibal.
The case was moved to St. Charles County on a change of venue.
On April 6 of this year, House rejected as “too lenient” a plea bargain that would have resulted in a sentence of 30 years in prison had Cazares pleaded guilty.
Family members of the victims objected to the deal, just as they did when a similar plea was offered last December.
The families have maintained that 30 years in prison is not enough for the murders of two people.
If convicted on all counts, Cazares could get up to 90 years behind bars.
Police say Cazares, who fathered a child with Thomas, turned himself in a few hours after the killings.
He reportedly directed investigators to the bodies of Thomas and Epley, who were found in a bedroom at Thomas’ unlocked Hannibal apartment. Epley was a friend of Thomas’ from high school.
During earlier testimony in the case, police reported Cazares confessed to the crime and said that jealousy was his motive. Investigators said Cazares was in America illegally.
Authorities said Cazares and Thomas met in Hannibal.
The suspect told them the two-year relationship ended in fall 2008, but that he and Thomas kept in periodic contact because of their child.
Cazares had several previous run-ins with the law, but always provided what appeared to be legitimate identification to authorities.
The documents later proved to be false.
Thomas had sought three orders of protection against Cazares, but did not enforce the first two.
She died before a hearing could be held on the third.
Cazares was in the Marion County Jail on $1 million cash-only bond.
