Homicide case has court date of March 18

More than a year after being charged with murder in the shooting death of his brother, Lonnie Liley has a court date.

Liley, 43, is accused of killing his brother, Jessie Liley, 50, in an early morning shooting Jan. 23, 2014, at a trailer in rural Bollinger County, Missouri.

Stephen Gray, who was Bollinger County's prosecuting attorney at the time, charged Liley with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Last week, special prosecutor Kevin Michael Zoellner of the Missouri attorney general's office entered his appearance on the case, and Judge Joe Z. Satterfield scheduled a trial setting for March 18.

If the trial setting goes forward as planned, it will mark the first time Liley has appeared in court since April.

The case has changed hands several times since Gray filed the charges in January 2014.

Heath Robins, who unseated Gray as prosecuting attorney last year, said Tuesday evening he will be assisting Zoellner with the prosecution. That brings to three the number of prosecutors who have been involved with the case.

Meanwhile, Liley has two public defenders -- Chris Davis and Jennifer Booth -- representing him.

And thanks in part to a pair of motions for change of judge in early 2014, the case has had four judges, beginning with Bollinger County Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen, who presided over Liley's initial arraignment and a Feb. 24 preliminary hearing at which Thomsen found probable cause to send the case on to Bollinger County Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis.

In March, Davis requested Lewis be disqualified from the case, which then was assigned to Judge William Syler.

The next month, Gray requested Syler be disqualified, and Satterfield temporarily was transferred from Stoddard County, Missouri, to Bollinger County to hear the case.

Since then, business in the case has been conducted outside the courtroom, with Satterfield and the attorneys exchanging letters that were filed with the court.

According to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the case, Liley told Bollinger County detective Della Moore he shot his brother in self-defense, believing Jessie Liley was trying to grab his gun.

In the affidavit, Moore stated Lonnie Liley's story had several inconsistencies.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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