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PARKERSBURG -- A murder trial originally scheduled for next week in Wood County Circuit Court has been moved to August.
Derek Burton Taylor, 39, in custody at the North Central Regional Jail, is charged with the March 2022 murder of 30-year-old Cory Friend of Parkersburg. Trial, originally set April 17, is now scheduled Aug. 1 before Judge Robert Waters.
Taylor was arrested after Friend died as a result of blunt force trauma. A criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court at the time said Taylor admitted to police that he struck Friend.
In a motion to continue trial, defense counsel said they needed more time to investigate discovery prior to going to trial. The state did not object.
In other business, another murder trial has a motion before the court for a continuance. Eric Charles Mullins, 49, in custody at the North Central Regional Jail, was originally scheduled to go to trial before Circuit Judge J.D. Beane on April 25 for the murder of Lisa Lynn Rogers, 56, of Parkersburg.
A defense motion filed April 6 said the defense needs additional time to prepare for trial and consult expert witnesses and co-counsel has changed and the new attorney needs additional time to prepare.
A hearing has not been set.
Mullins was arrested in December 2021 by the Parkersburg Police Department. Rogers' body was found by Parkersburg Police on Nov. 29, 2021.
A bloody palm and fingerprint impression on drywall was found during a search of her residence, the department said at the time. The evidence was tested at the State Police laboratory, which matched the prints to Mullins, the department said at the time.
The trial of one of the men charged with the murder of a Parkersburg man in May 2022 from an alleged drug deal and robbery that turned into a shooting is now scheduled to go to trial in July before Circuit Judge Jason Wharton.
Justin Keel (also known as George Justin Smith), 22, of Columbus, was indicted last September on charges of murder, first-degree robbery, presentation of a firearm during the commission of a felony, wanton endangerment with a firearm and conspiracy to commit a felony in the death of Terrance Mills Jr. (also known as T.J.)
He is now scheduled to go to trial at 9 a.m. July 17.
A co-defendant, Donovan Tyler McCune of Parkersburg, was also initially charged in the case. The status of his case was not available Wednesday.
A woman involved in the incident, Dezaray Lynn Roberts of Vienna, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in December as part of a plea agreement. She was sentenced to prison for 15 years in prison with a credit of 216 days for time served.
In court documents, Roberts is said to have set up a drug purchase on May 17, 2022, with Mills with two other men with the intent of robbing him and splitting the proceeds. However, during the meeting Mills was shot and killed by one of the men and then all three of them fled the scene in her 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Motions in the case are due by June 2. A motion hearing is set for 1 p.m. June 16.