A four-year old murder case will have to wait a little longer to go to trial.
39-year old Kenneth J. Acree of Murrayville was scheduled to see a jury trial start on December 10th. Acree is charged with 3 counts of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide in the October 2020 shooting death of Robert Schofield in rural Nortonville.
Acree has pleaded not guilty and has previously claimed self-defense in the case.
On Tuesday last week, Acree’s defense attorney W. Scott Hanken of Springfield withdrew from the case. With the motion to withdraw on file, the jury trial scheduled to begin next month is likely to be vacated. Had it gone to trial, it would have been the first jury trial in December in over two decades.
No official new dates and a ruling on the motion to withdrawn by visiting Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan has not appeared in court records as of press time.