Donthe Lucas’ murder trial moved to July

The trial of a man accused of killing his 21-year-old pregnant girlfriend will be taking place months later than originally scheduled.

After a motions hearing Thursday in Pueblo, Donthe Lucas’ murder trial was moved to July 30. It’s expected to take up to four weeks, attorneys said during Thursday’s proceedings.

Lucas is accused of murdering Kelsie Schelling in 2013. Investigators still haven’t found Schelling’s body, but prosecutors believe they have enough to convict Lucas.

The delay came as no surprise.

“There is just no way we were going to be prepared with the limited time that we had before the original trial date,” said Donthe Lucas’ attorney Guillermo Garibay.

Laura Saxton, Kelsie Schelling’s mother, says she saw this delay coming. She just hopes it doesn’t happen again.

“Learning patience through this process has been key,” said Saxton. “I’m just really ready to get this done.”

Unlike in previous hearings, Lucas was required by the judge to stand and speak in order to waive his right to a speedy trial so that the trial date could be pushed back to July.

“I appreciated the fact that he had to get up and stand and actually utter some words for a change,” said Saxton.

During this mornings hearing closed off to our cameras, the defense asked for more specifics on potential witnesses, evidence, and arguments made by the prosecution so they can better prepare for trial.

Prosecutors as well as the judge point out that a number of the arguments were already presented during the preliminary hearings.

Prosecutors have more than 100 potential witnesses at this time. The judge has asked them to narrow a list of the most prominent witnesses for the defense.

Meanwhile, the defense argues that testimony from private investigators, like former PC sheriff Dan Corsentino, hired by the family of Schelling isn’t credible.

“I just don’t know any family who wouldn’t have done that if it was within their means,” said Saxton. “If they saw that basically their daughters case was being put on the back burner. In the end I hope that’s not hurtful to us.”
One motion not discussed Thursday morning is the defense’s alternative suspect, Kelsie’s own father, Douglas Schelling. The defense claims Schelling was abusive to his own daughter. Saxton says she doesn’t listen to that junk.

Lucas is expected to be back in court for more motions hearings on April 25th.

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The April 2nd trial date for Donthe Lucas is inching closer and closer. The former Pueblo Central High School basketball star stands accused of killing his 21-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Kelsie Schelling, back in 2013.

Now it’s 2019 and investigators still haven’t found Schelling’s body, but prosecutors believe they have enough to keep Lucas behind bars for a long time.

Since the trial date was set, Lucas’ attorneys haven’t been sitting idle. The defense of Donthe Lucas has filed 35 motions, asking the judge for various things to be allowed and disallowed before trial.

One of the most intriguing requests includes an alternate suspect request in regards to the disappearance. The defense suggests Kelsie Schelling’s father should be considered as a possible suspect.

In the request to present an alternate suspect, lawyers for Donthe Lucas claim that Douglas Schelling was abusive to his own daughter, but that’s not the only defense strategy laid out by these motions.

Attorneys asked the judge to disallow evidence showing Lucas using Schelling’s debit card around the time of her disappearance.

They also ask for a change in venue due to the high publicity surrounding the case.

“There’s a minimal chance of that,” said Private Investigator Dan Corsentino. “There is a significant amount of jurors in the community of 100 and fifty thousand people in the city and county combined. I think they will be able to get a jury.”

At a sentencing hearing last week, the judge said he’s open to talking about a venue change but isn’t in favor of doing it.

During that hearing, because of the high number of motions and counter-motions by both the defense and prosecution, the idea of pushing back the April 2nd trial date was discussed.

Corsentino says there is a much stronger possibility of that. How long though, it is still difficult to say.

KRDO asked Corsentino on his thoughts regarding the defense arguing that Douglas Schelling should be considered a suspect. He refrained from answering the questions because he is expected to take the stand once the trial begins.

In order to sort out a number of these requests, there will be a motion hearing in the Pueblo Courthouse February 7th and 8th.