(Wauseon, OH) There are new developments in a pair of death penalty cases involving Northwest Ohio murder victims.
First, the attorney for accused Fulton County killer James Worley wants to delay his trial. A judge is scheduled to hear arguments today on a request to delay the trial from its January 16th date.
At issue is the availability of a witness who would testify in the penalty phase of Worley's trial. Worley is facing the death penalty for kidnapping and killing University of Toledo Sierah Joughin last year.
Next, concerns about GPS tracking data are the latest controversy in another death-penalty case.
Brian Golsby and his attorneys are fighting the evidence in his upcoming trial, accused of kidnapping, raping and killing former Anthony Wayne high school student-athlete Reagan Tokes, a senior at Ohio State at the time of her disappearance last February.
At issue is whether police should have received a search warrant to request the information from Golsby's GPS monitor. A judge could throw out the evidence, but Franklin County prosecutors say they're confident in their case without it.
Golsby is accused of robbing Tokes at an ATM, then taking her and her car-- her body later found at a public park.
Meantime, there are bills moving through the Ohio statehouse involving both cases.
Work continues on a bill to establish a violent offender registry statewide as a result of the Joughin murder.
The Regan Tokes Act would overhaul Ohio's sentencing guidelines, hire more parole officers, and promises a better system of tracking parolees with GPS ankle monitors.
Votes on each bill are expected when the legislature resumes early next year.