Hearings Delayed in Lillielid Murder Case

Sunday, September 23, 2001
by Associated Press

(Greeneville-AP) -- Hearings for two Kentuckians serving life sentences for the 1997 murders of three members of a Knoxville family have been delayed.
Natasha Wallen Cornett and Karen Renee Howell were scheduled for post-conviction hearings this month.
Criminal Court Judge James Beckner delayed their hearings.
Another of the murderers -- Joseph Lance Risner -- has also requested a post-conviction relief hearing.
Risner claims he entered guilty pleas during his trial without understanding or awareness.
Cornett, Howell, Risner and three others gunned down Vidar, Delfina and 6-year-old Tabitha Lillelid before leaving them for dead.
Two-year-old Peter Lillelid was seriously wounded but survived. He now lives with relatives in Sweden.