BATTLE CREEK (WTVB) - A man accused of murder and then dumping the body of the shooting victim in Branch County last winter has been freed from jail because he didn’t get a speedy trial.  By all accounts the trial of Lauren O’Melay in Calhoun County should be a slam dunk. They have the weapon, they have evidence, they have a motive, they even have a confession. He is charged with the shooting death of Larry Denniston over a land dispute back on March 31^st, and then driving his body to Branch County and leaving it along Ely Road in Butler Township.

O’Melay was considered a flight risk then and ordered held without bond. When he had spent 6 months in jail waiting to go to trial, his attorney petitioned to have his bond waived and the judge had no choice and he walked free. The 64-year-old O’Melay is still scheduled to go to trial on November 6^th.