CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Harrison County Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell agreed to a second postponement for the trial of one of the suspects accused in the 2015 beating death of Dustin Baldwin.
Kelsi Riddle, 20, of Clarksburg, is one of three suspects allegedly involved in Baldwin’s death. Riddle faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Her trial is now rescheduled for Dec. 5.
That’s also when Terrance Hilliard is scheduled to face his jury trial. Heappeared in court Wednesday for a pre-trial motions hearing regarding a number of issues, but most were unsolvable while the state and defense await the results of a competency hearing involving a third suspect, Zachary Hilliard, who pleaded to lesser charges in exchange for testimony against Terrance Hilliard.
The plea has not yet been accepted by the court and is pending the results of psychiatric diagnostic testing.
Terrance Hilliard has returned to jail to await another pre-trial motions hearing scheduled for Sept. 16.
The state alleges that in the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 2015, Kelsi Riddle drove Terrance and Zachary Hilliard around Clarksburg as they searched for another individual who they believed had “ripped off” a woman.
Police allege the group identified the wrong person and wound up chasing Dustin Baldwin, eventually catching him and beating him into a coma.
Zachary Hilliard claimed he realized it was the wrong individual, but that Terrance Hilliard continued to beat him.
Baldwin, 29, passed away last September from injuries sustained during the beating. The accused allegedly left him bloody and beaten on the porch of his grandmother’s home in Clarksburg.
If Bedell does not accept Zachary Hilliard’s plea, he would still face prosecution on murder and conspiracy charges.