Court date for murder suspect rescheduled

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Accused murderer Allen McCoy of Bernie, Missouri, was scheduled to appear Tuesday in the Butler County Courthouse, but did not. Instead, he will be appearing Nov. 4.

Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver said everyone else showed up, but McCoy wasn't brought to the courthouse from the Butler County Jail.

"We are doing depositions between now and [Nov. 4], so they will know what motions to file," Oliver commented. "And then we are setting a special motions hearing date when we appear on Nov. 4."

McCoy, charged with first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and first degree robbery, received a change of venue from Stoddard County to Butler County last month, after his attorney filed a motion. McCoy's previously scheduled appearance did not take place, either, as McCoy's attorney, Beth Ann Kerry of St. Louis, was unable to appear with him at the time.

Kerry filed a motion for a venue change Aug. 6, and it was filed electronically. McCoy received his change of venue shortly thereafter, and since has been housed in the county jail in Poplar Bluff.

McCoy is charged with the June 2010 murder of 67-year-old Aubrey Lee Finch in Bernie. In February 2013, McCoy was declared to be "mentally retarded" and, as a result, incompetent to stand trial. He was examined by mental health professionals for the prosecution and defense before the official determination was made.

A motion in February revealed the staff at Fulton State Hospital, where he had been housed, "found that Mr. McCoy's unfitness to proceed no longer endures."