The murder trial surrounding a homicide that went unsolved in Juneau for more than a year is scheduled to begin in three months, but the defense has suggested that could change.
During a status hearing Tuesday, Assistant Public Defender Eric Hedland asked for an additional status hearing before his client, Nora Edith Thomas, faces two counts of second-degree murder in front of a jury.
[Grand jury indicts woman charged in 2014 homicide]
“A meeting of the minds” is what Hedland said he would like to accomplish with District Attorney James Scott to see if the Nov. 7 trial needs to occur. If a plea deal is reached before then, the jury trial would be vacated and sentencing by Judge Philip Pallenberg would likely take place instead.
Police arrested Thomas, 28, on Jan. 29 of this year outside her home in Wasilla after the Juneau Police Department’s investigation linked her to the homicide of her former 50-year-old former boyfriend Christopher K. Kenney.
[Woman arrested in unsolved 2014 death]
Kenney died on Nov. 29, 2014, due to knife injuries that he acquired inside a Gruening Park apartment in the 1800 block of Northwood Drive that he shared with Thomas.
According to a police complaint, Thomas told police officers who approached her in Wasilla earlier this year that she did in fact stab Kenney, but that it was in response to physical and mental abuse she said she suffered while living with him. Previously, at the time of Kenney’s death in 2014, Thomas told police that Kenney slipped and fell on a knife while washing dishes.
Thomas pleaded not guilty through her attorney to the charges on Feb. 9.
[Defendant in 2014 homicide pleads not guilty]
Scott said he agreed with Hedland’s plan to meet again before going to trial.
“This is the type of case we try to prioritize and turn our attention to,” Scott said in court.
Thomas’ next status hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
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