Wyoming Judge Grants Lawyers More Time in Child Murder Case
Laramie County District Court Judge Catherine Rogers has, once again, granted attorneys more time to prepare for trial in the case of accused child killer John Barrett.
The state was expected to announce today (Thursday) whether it intended to pursue the death penalty against Barrett, but Deputy District Attorney Ed Buchanan asked Rogers to give the defense "more time" to review recent discovery in the case.
The 25-year-old Barrett is accused of sexually abusing and killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old son in May. Police say his girlfriend left the child in Barrett's care while she was at work.
Autopsy findings indicated the the boy suffered inter-abdominal blunt force trauma due to an assault and that the matter of death was homicide.
"My team and I are treating this like a capital case," said Barrett's attorney, Diane Lozano.
Rogers set Barrett's trial for August 2019. A follow-up status conference is set for Aug. 9, 2018.