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Trial date set for child's murder case

February 15, 2008|Mike Wynn

After months of delay, a trial date has been set for Patrick and Joy Watkins, a Winchester couple charged with murder in the death of Patrick's 10-year-old daughter, Michaela.At a court hearing Thursday, Circuit Court Judge William T. Jennings scheduled the trial to begin May 5.

It marked the fourth time the couple have appeared in court for a hearing on the case. Previously, continuations were granted so attorneys could complete discovery proceedings and a state lab could finish evidence testing.

Michaela's mother Rachel Adams-Samuels said she is relieved to see the trial move forward and anxious for closure.

"It has just been a very long, difficult emotional process," said Adams-Samuels. "Next month will be a year, and it still hurts."

Prosecutors have not offered the couple a plea deal and are expecting a long trial.

A Clark County grand jury indicted the Watkins' on murder charges in May after Michaela was found dead in the couple's Memorial Park apartment on March 11.

According to investigators, her body was found bruised and burned, with seven rib fractures to her left side.

The state medical examiner later concluded that her death resulted from the burns and a "failed chest due to blunt force trauma caused by an object." The rib fractures were caused by a "blunt object swung at a high velocity," according to the report.

The Watkins' have pleaded not guilty in the case.

During the initial police investigation, the couple said Michaela urinated on herself and was told to take a bath. She then fell and struck her head twice while trying to get out of the tub, the Watkinses told police.

Michaela's parents said she was fine the rest of the evening, but began drifting in and out of consciousness the next day while the family was on a trip to the Red River Gorge. Michaela also fell down the stairs after returning home, they said.

Police believed the statements were inconsistent with evidence.

Adams-Samuels said on Thursday that she has been frustrated by having the hearings continued for so long, but justice will vindicate Michaela's death.

"Others may be able to feel my pain, but not as much as I feel it," she said. "I know that there are a lot of mothers out there that have lost their children and can relate, but my daughter's murder was very, very brutal."

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