CONWAY -- A judge on Tuesday declined a teenage capital-murder suspect's request to attend a relative's funeral.
Hunter Drexler, who is charged in the July 21, 2015, shooting deaths of a Conway couple, had asked to attend an uncle's funeral Thursday afternoon in Heber Springs.
Drexler's attorney, Patrick Benca, said in a motion filed last week that Drexler's mother, Kimberly Ison, had "indicated she will take care of all arrangements to ensure that Hunter will be properly secured by" Faulkner County sheriff's deputies.
"The court is sympathetic to the passing away of the Defendant's Uncle," Circuit Judge Troy Braswell wrote in a one-page order Tuesday. "Nonetheless, due to the serious nature of the charged offenses and due to the Defendant being held without bond, the court hereby denies the request for the Defendant to attend a family funeral."
Drexler and his late uncle, Richard Eugene Ison, were "very close," and the uncle had attended Drexler's court hearings and had been "very involved in all matters related to this case," Benca wrote in the motion.
Drexler, 18, of Clinton is jailed on two counts each of capital murder, aggravated robbery, theft of property and abuse of a corpse in the deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell, both 66. Drexler, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is scheduled for trial starting Oct. 17.
The Cogdells were the legal guardians to Justin Staton, who pleaded guilty in May to first-degree murder and other offenses. Staton, 15, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Two other teenagers -- Connor Atchley, 17, of Greenbrier and his girlfriend, Anastasia Roberts, 18, of Conway -- are awaiting trial on two counts each of first-degree murder and felony theft by receiving
Atchley had been scheduled for a hearing today on whether to transfer his case to juvenile court. He had just turned 17 when the killings took place. But last week Atchley's attorney withdrew the defense motion seeking the transfer hearing.
In the withdrawal motion, attorney Frank Shaw cited "a recent shift in trial strategy."
Atchley is now scheduled for a pretrial hearing today in Braswell's courtroom. His trial date has not been set.
Roberts, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is scheduled for a juvenile-transfer hearing for Sept. 22. Her trial is to begin Dec. 12.
State Desk on 07/06/2016