Court Accepts Motion of Consumption in Virginia Double Homicide Case

By Jeremy Coumbes on May 13, 2021 at 3:38pm

71-year old Robert D. Harris of Virginia faces six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kathleen Wzientek and Brenda Crum after their bodies were discovered in Wzientek’s home on January 13th.

A man accused of a double homicide in rural Virignia appeared in Cass County Court yesterday.

71-year old Robert D. Harris of Virginia appeared before Cass County Circuit Judge Timothy J. Wessel for a motion hearing Wednesday afternoon. Harris faces six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kathleen Wzientek and Brenda Crum after their bodies were discovered in Wzientek’s home on January 13th.

Cass County State’s Attorney Craig Miller filed a motion of consumption of evidence in the case. According to Miller, the Illinois State Police are still conducting analysis on evidence collected in the case and that the testing on some of the evidence may cause the entire substance to be consumed.

Miller says the motion of consumption requests the court to sign an order allowing for the State Police to conduct the testing. The order puts the defense on notice in the event they want an expert present during testing to monitor the process.

Over the defense’s objection, the court granted the state’s motion of consumption and granted the defense the opportunity to have a 3rd party present at the testing.

Harris pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment on April, 26th. Harris is next due in Cass County Court for an omnibus hearing on June 16th at 1:15 PM.

A pre-trial hearing is set for June 25th at 8:30AM, with the possibility of a jury trial at 9AM on July 12th. Harris remains in the custody of the Cass County Sheriff and is currently being held at the Morgan County Jail, on $3 million bond.