craigdailypress.com

Terry Hankins

Cynthia Hankins

On March 25, 2008, Craig man Terry Hankins walked into Moffat County District Court and pleaded not guilty to killing his wife and other charges.

He walked into the same courtroom Thursday morning, almost a year after entering his plea, and listened as his attorneys, prosecutors and a District Court judge decided the date of his new jury trial.

Hankins, 72, wearing a navy blue Moffat County Jail jumpsuit, and sporting long white hair and beard, was escorted to court by a Moffat County Sheriff's Office deputy and public defender Sheryl Uhlmann.

He has been in custody since August 2007, awaiting trial.

Hankins is charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with the June 2007 death of his wife, 34-year-old Cynthia Hankins, also of Craig.

He originally was scheduled for a December 2008 trial in Moffat County.

However, a series of court actions postponed the trial and changed its venue.

Michael O'Hara, chief judge of the 14th Judicial District, set a new trial date Thursday. There remains a question about its location.

After consulting with prosecutors - Jeremy Snow, deputy district attorney, and Carl Stahl, chief deputy district attorney - and Hankins' public defenders, the judge set a June 15 trial date.

It is scheduled to last three weeks.

Snow said he thought the prosecution would need seven or eight days to present its case. Uhlmann said the defense would need three or four days.

O'Hara also addressed trial venue.

The Hankins trial originally was scheduled to take place in Moffat County. But, after a lengthy motions hearing in September 2008, the judge ordered the trial moved to Routt County.

The decision stemmed from the motions hearing. During the hearing, prosecutors presented recorded confessions of Hankins admitting to killing, dismembering and disposing of his wife.

O'Hara suppressed the statements because he thought investigators had committed a Miranda violation.

The suppressions were enough to convince the judge to relocate the trial from Moffat County to Routt County.

He said pre-trial publicity about the statements in Moffat County could be enough to interfere with Hankins' right to a fair trial.

The prosecution appealed O'Hara's decision to suppress the statements. Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed O'Hara's ruling, allowing the statements back in.

Snow raised the idea Thursday of moving the trial back to Moffat County based on the Supreme Court's ruling on the statements.

O'Hara told the deputy district attorney he would consider any motion that's filed, including one on venue, but that no such motion was in the court record.

"If you want me to reconsider, that's fine," the judge said. He added, "As it stands now, the venue is Routt County."

After the hearing, Snow said he would not comment on whether a motion to change venue would be submitted to the court.

"Due to the ongoing nature of the case, we're unable to comment at this time," he said.

Hankins' next appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 13 in District Court, for a pre-trial conference.

Joshua Roberts can be reached at 875-1791, or jroberts@craigdailypress.com.