COLDWATER, MI (WTVB)- The Branch County Circuit Court trials for the four defendants accused by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office of being involved in a plot to kidnap, rape and kill a randomly selected child will not start March 19, 2019 as originally scheduled.
Final pretrial conferences for David Lee Bailey of Coldwater, Talia Renee Furman of Springfield, Matthew Toole of Battle Creek and Jayme LaPoint of Athens were held Monday in Circuit Court.
At the end of the hearing, it was determined that the Branch County trials will have to be rescheduled since there are Calhoun County criminal cases that need to be resolved.
In addition, the defense attorney for LaPoint has filed a motion to suppress statements she made to the State Police because the attorney claims her client was not advised of her Miranda rights. A hearing on that motion has been scheduled for next Tuesday.
New trial dates in Branch County have not been scheduled yet.
Bond for all four suspects is still $5 million. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit the crimes of kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and murder.
Court officials have blocked off three days for the trial whenever it takes place
All four suspects were arrested in September 2018 following a Michigan State Police investigation.
