LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A Eudora health care attendant has pleaded not guilty in the asphyxiation death of a patient with cerebral palsy.
Ronald Eugene Heskett, 49, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder in the Sept. 11, 2014, death of 65-year-old Vance Moulton.
Prosecutors say Heskett, who was Moulton’s home health care provider, killed him by twisting a towel around his throat, The Lawrence Journal-World reported (https://bit.ly/1IVDi2Q ).
Heskett says the act was an assisted suicide.
Douglas County District Judge Peggy Kittel on Friday found probable cause and bound Heskett over for trial. Heskett entered a not guilty plea.
Kittel said she based her decision on testimony from a preliminary hearing, Heskett’s admission that he had assisted in Moulton’s death, and “suspicious financial dealings that would give the defendant motive” to commit murder.
Heskett’s attorney, Mike Warner, said no clear evidence was presented to support financial motive in the killing.
Kittel also denied Warner’s request to prohibit Haskell’s two police interviews from being used at trial, saying the interviews were voluntary.
Chief Assistant District Attorney David Melton said prosecutors had been waiting for Friday’s ruling before considering plea deals.
Trial is set for the week of Sept. 14. Heskett is scheduled to next appear in court Aug. 14.
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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, https://www.ljworld.com
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