Patrick and Joy Watkins, a Winchester couple charged with murder in the grisly death of Patrick's 10-year-old daughter, Michaela, appeared in court again Thursday, only to have the hearing continued until February.
It marked the third time that the pair have appeared in Clark Circuit Court for a status hearing that resulted in a continuation. Attorneys needed more time Thursday to complete discovery proceedings on Patrick Watkins' medical records, which will be used as evidence.
Circuit Court Judge William T. Jennings scheduled the next status conference for 3:45 p.m. Feb. 14.
Previously, prosecutors were waiting on the results of evidence testing at a state lab, which has since been completed.
The Watkinses have pleaded not guilty in the case.
They were indicted on murder charges by a grand jury in May after Michaela was found dead two months earlier in the couple's Memorial Park apartment.
Investigators said her body was bruised and burned, and she suffered seven rib fractures to her left side. The state medical examiner later concluded her death resulted from a "failed chest due to blunt force trauma caused by an object."
