CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The trial of a man accused of beating another man to death in Harrison County will be pushed back.
Terrance Ray Hilliard, 22, of Clarksburg, is now scheduled to stand trial beginning in August.
Defense attorney Jerry Blair explained the reason for filing a motion to continue on March 29 was DNA testing had yet to be returned.
The State Police Forensic Lab is backed up currently, to the point that they have not begun to look at the evidence pertaining to the case as of this week, according to Harrison County Prosecutor Rachel Romano.
Hilliard was then questioned by Judge Thomas Bedell about his reason for wanting to delay the trial before accepting his waiver on the right to a speedy trail.
Terrance and Zachary Davan Hilliard, along with codefendant Kelsi Riddle were indicted on one count of Murder and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree back in January.
The state alleges that in the early morning hours of August 19, 2015, the three were searching for another individual when they tracked down Dustin Baldwin.
According to Zachary, he and Terrance started to chase after Baldwin but he realized it was the wrong person and stopped.
However, Terrance allegedly continued, beat Baldwin into a coma, left him on his grandmother’s porch and took items off of him.
Baldwin would die in the hospital on September 8 of last year.
Zachary offered guilty pleas last month to a lesser charges of 1st Degree Robbery and one count of Conspiracy to Commit 1st Degree Robbery as part of a deal with the state.
He agreed to testify in the case against his codefendatns.
Judge Bedell held off on accepting the pleas in order to gather more information beforehand.
Riddle will appear in court tomorrow where her motion for a continuance will be up for approval.
If accepted, her trial will begin at the same week as Terrance’s.