HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Reno County judge has delayed a decision on a 14-year-old Hutchinson boy’s request to bar public access to court proceedings over the arson deaths of his mother and younger sister.
The teen is charged with first-degree murder in the two deaths and the attempted murder of his father in the Sept. 26 fire at the family’s home. The state is seeking to prosecute him as an adult.
Judge Patricia Macke Dick put off her ruling after a hearing Tuesday on a defense motion for an order to close hearings, seal the court record and impose a gag order.
Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder says the judge took the matter under advisement after The Hutchinson News intervened with a motion seeking to keep the proceedings open.
