CONWAY -- The teenager detained in the July shooting deaths of the Conway couple who was raising him made a brief court appearance Monday morning in Faulkner County Circuit Court.
Fourteen-year-old Justin Staton, who has been held as an adult since a day after the July 21 slayings of Robert and Patricia Cogdell at their Quail Run Circle home in Conway, appeared before Circuit Judge Troy Braswell for a status hearing.
No formal charges were filed against Justin during the hearing. Another status hearing has been set for Aug. 25.
The Cogdells, both 66 and Justin's legal guardians, were found shot outside their home July 22. Police believe they died the day before.
For years, Justin had thought the Cogdells were his paternal grandparents. The teenager was raised by the Cogdells and still lived with the couple.
Now, Justin is jailed without bail on probable cause of two counts of capital murder.
Wearing a green and white jail uniform, Justin said nothing during the short hearing. He was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles.
He was represented by Public Defender Gina Reynolds with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission. The executive director of the commission, Greg Parrish, was also present during the hearing.
The affidavit in the case is sealed until the prosecutor's office files formal charges. State law allows a defendant to be held up to 60 days before formal charges are filed.
"At this point, we're waiting for Conway [police] to finish up the investigation," Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said after the hearing.
"I think it's important that we get it right rather than get it fast. This is a crime of great gravity in our community, and we want to make sure we get it right. The Conway Police Department is working around the clock to make sure that happens.
"We're going to wait on them, and we're going to get all the evidence and put it in front of us, and then at that point we'll make a decision on formal charges.
"It's entirely possible that we'll have formal charges by [Aug. 25]."
Hiland said he couldn't comment on -- or even acknowledge -- the situation of three teenagers who were turned over to Arkansas authorities and described as "persons of interest" by Texas police in the Cogdells' shooting deaths.
The three teens were detained in Graham, Texas, on misdemeanor charges after police stopped their vehicle July 23. They arrived at the Faulkner County jail last week, and investigators have questioned them.
The three teens, all 17, are considered children under state law unless they are formally charged as adults.
On Monday, Conway police spokesman LaTresha Woodruff said the three teenagers haven't been charged by Conway police.
The Graham Leader newspaper in Texas last month identified the teenagers as Hunter John Drexler, Conner Hunter Atchley and Anastasia Rose Roberts. In Texas, a 17-year-old is considered an adult under the law.
State Desk on 08/04/2015