No trial date in sight

Derek Elms, an Odessa man jailed on capital murder charges, appeared briefly in court Wednesday morning for the first time since he and three others were charged in connection to the 2008 slaying of Robert C. Thornhill Jr.

Elms’ court-appointed attorney, Rusty Wall of Lubbock, requested the hearing because Ector County Jail officials declined to release jail records regarding Elms and his three co-defendants, Willie Hurst, 20, Heather Mitchell, 20, and Kathleen Newbury, 21.

The records, which Wall said would document any disciplinary problems involving the inmates, were delivered before the hearing to Judge Denn Whalen. The judge said he would determine whether any of the material is privileged before releasing the records, which Wall subpoenaed in July of last year.

The brief hearing Wednesday marked the first action in the case in several months. Elms and his co-defendants were indicted on capital murder charges in September 2008 and have been awaiting trial ever since.

All four have pleaded not guilty and are being held on $1 million bond each. Elms waived his arraignment and was not present in court when his co-defendants pleaded not guilty.

District Attorney Bobby Bland said Wednesday it would be inappropriate to say when the cases might go to trial. Court documents, however, suggest it could be several months before any of the cases goes before a jury.

The charges stem from a grisly homicide that happened in May 2008. Authorities found Thornhill’s charred remains in June 2008 in a ditch eight miles northwest of Goldsmith. According to a police affidavit, the 24-year-old Odessa man’s throat was slit and he had been shot in the chest by a crossbow.

Authorities allege Elms cut Thornhill’s throat during a fight. After Elms called for Hurst to help him, Hurst fired a crossbow and Thornhill, a police affidavit said.

Elms and Hurst later loaded the body into Thornhill’s pickup, poured gasoline over it and burned it in a ditch, the police affidavit said. Police said Hurst led detectives to the body several weeks later.

In a jailhouse interview shortly after Thornhill’s death, Hurst disputed the police affidavit and pointed the finger at Elms.

There has been little activity in the four cases since the grand jury indicted the defendants on capital murder charges. Last year, Bland decided not to seek the death penalty in Newbury’s trial, though he has declined to say why. He has not waived the death penalty in the other three cases, and defense attorneys for each of the other defendants appear to be preparing a death penalty defense.

Newbury’s attorney David Zavoda filed a flurry of motions challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty about two months before Bland decided not to seek the death penalty in that case. Zavoda said Wednesday he was a pleased the prosecution would not seek the death penalty but declined to comment on Bland’s decision.

He said he has entertained plea negotiations but declined to elaborate.

As for the pace of the proceedings, Zavoda said he understood it could take some time before both sides are ready for trial.

“They’ve got a lot on their plate — that’s the bottom line,” Zavoda said of the District Attorney’s Office. “It just takes a while to get (murder trials) before a jury.”