Early spring trial set for Lead man accused of killing woman

LEAD, S.D. (AP) - A Lead man accused of killing a woman is scheduled for an early spring trial.

Forty-four-year-old James Rogers Jr. is accused of fatally stabbing 27-year-old Caitlin Walsh in August and keeping her body in his apartment for five days. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

The Black Hills Pioneer reports (https://bit.ly/1nApWCP ) that Judge Randall Macy has scheduled a weeklong jury trial beginning March 28. Rogers faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.

Macy this week also denied a defense motion to have some evidence disallowed at trial. Defense attorney Ellery Grey had maintained that police violated Rogers’ rights when they searched his apartment.

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Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, https://www.bhpioneer.com