TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A jury trial for a Topeka man charged with kidnapping and killing an 8-year-old girl has been postponed until next year.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Billy Frank Davis Jr. had been scheduled to go on trial Oct. 7. But a Shawnee County judge on Tuesday granted a defense request to postpone the trial. It’s now scheduled for March 24, 2014.
Davis faces two alternative counts of capital murder in the March 2012 death of 8-year-old Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin. He’s also charged with rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary.
Davis could face the death penalty if he’s convicted. Police say he told detectives that he kidnapped and choked the girl during a flashback to his military service in Iraq.