steve.dick@heraldbulleitn.com
The Indiana Court of Appeals has given the state 128 days to retry Rex Delph for two counts of murder, Class A felony arson resulting in bodily injury and two counts of felony murder, and Madison County Prosecutor Tom Broderick said his office would proceed promptly.
On Dec. 6, 2006, Judge Fredrick Spencer of Madison Circuit Court dismissed all charges against Delph, claiming the state took 429 days to bring the defendant to trial. The appellate opinion lists numerous continuances in the trial of Delph.
Delph, Anderson, was arrested in June 2004. His wife, Robynn, and their 9-year-old son Joshua died in a fire in the couple’s home, 1307 W. Second St.
Delph had sought the dismissal based on Criminal Rule 4(C), which states: “No person shall be held on recognizance or otherwise to answer a criminal charge for a period ... embracing more than one year from the date the criminal charge is filed or from the date of his arrest on such charge, whichever is later; except where a continuance is had on his motion or the delay was caused by his act or where there was not sufficient time to try him due to court congestion.”
According to a Herald Bulletin article at the time, Spencer said many of the continuances were because the prosecutor’s office failed to share evidence from the investigation. Delph’s attorney, Zaki Ali, was searching for two oil lamps found in Delph’s home. Ali, according to previous reports, wanted an expert to examine the lamps. It took two months to find the lamps in custody of the Anderson Fire Department, according to the Court of Appeals opinion.
The appellate court sought to break down the number of days that could be charged to the state and days charged to Delph to determine if the case violated Criminal Rule 4(C).
In the ruling, of the 429 noted by Spencer, 237 days were attributed to the state with the remainder to Delph. That means the state has 128 days to retry Delph.
“That’s not a great deal of time, if there are no other delays,” said Broderick.
“I will ask the judge Monday to set a trial date (in that time period). It will give us time to be prepared and look over evidence.”
Broderick said delays could come if Delph would request another look by the appellate court. Delph has 30 days to do so. Another 30 days could be added if, after another appellate review, Delph decided to transfer the case to the Indiana Supreme Court, according to Broderick.
Also, according to the prosecutor, Ali may have been a public defender for Delph and a new public defender could be put on the case. Broderick said he wasn’t sure whether Ali served as public defender for Delph or hired counsel.
Numerous messages were left at Ali’s cell phone number Friday but not returned.
“We’ll go forward and get this case resolved,” said Broderick.
Local News
8:32 p.m.: State has 128 days to retry Delph
- Local News
-
-
Anderson man dies at Monroe Reservoir; 3 others arrested
Memorial Day weekend took a tragic turn Saturday evening as an Anderson man visiting Monroe Reservoir died. Three other Anderson men were arrested later that day following the death of Matthew Hosier, 29.
-
Getting Together: Silence not golden for this library program
Certain rules govern almost all libraries: be quiet, don’t mar the pages and absolutely no food or drinks on the premises. But a small group of patrons wait until after hours, lock themselves in the back room of the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library, eat popcorn, drink soda and loudly scoff as they watch bad movies.
-
Veteran receiving Bronze Star 68 years late
An Army veteran will be awarded a Bronze Star on Memorial Day — 68 years after he was originally supposed to receive it.
-
Memorial Day activities set
For Memorial Day weekend, here’s a list of activities to participate in.
-
Arrest Log: May 28
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
- Conservation officers arrest Anderson boater on alcohol charge
-
What's Where: May 28
Local activities are scheduled Monday.
-
Handicapped murder convict alleges prison discrimination
Since October 2006, Donald Lock has been confined to a wheel chair because of a degenerative bone disease. He has spent time at correctional facilities throughout the state, but it wasn’t until he was transferred to Pendleton earlier this year that he said he felt his disability was ignored.
-
Arrest log: May 27
The following arrest log appears in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Parents at Little League say coach took money
Parents of the North Anderson Little League filed a complaint with police against a former coach who they say stole fundraiser money.
- More Local News Headlines
-
