MANDAN, N.D. (AP) - The surging coronavirus pandemic has forced court officials in Mandan to postpone a quadruple homicide trial until June.
The Bismarck Tribune reported Friday that Chad Isaak was set to go on trial Nov. 30. But court documents related to the trial’s delay list concerns about the health of court staff, jurors and their families.
The documents also raise questions about how the trial would proceed if jurors or witnesses got sick or had to quarantine. Several prosecution witnesses are currently in quarantine and witnesses coming from out-of-state would have to quarantine upon their return home, the documents state.
Isaak, 46, is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of RJR Maintenance and Management co-owner Robert Fakler, 52; and employees Adam Fuehrer, 42; and William Cobb, 50, and Lois Cobb, 45, who were married. The victims were found shot and stabbed at the Mandan business April 1, 2019.
Authorities have not commented on a possible motive. Isaak has pleaded not guilty.
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