Suspects Plead Not Guilty

Friday, September 6, 2097

Attorneys for the Lillelid murder suspects entered not guilty pleas in a Greene County courtroom yesterday afternoon on behalf of the six Kentuckians charged in the April assault on a Knox County family. Five of the six suspects appeared in court for the arraignment with their attorneys. The sixth, Crystal Sturgill, waived her right to arraignment, and was not present in the courtroom. The others, Jason Bryant, Natasha Cornett, Karen Howell, Edward Dean Mullins, and Joseph Risner, sat with their attorneys during the brief arraignment, while presiding Judge James Beckner outlined the twenty-nine charges against each defendant. Courthouse and courtroom security, was very visible again today, as it has been when the accused appeared in court on previous dates. The next phase of the case will come on October 9, when the first of a number of motion hearings is scheduled. The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin February 10th.