Indiana County President Judge William Martin this week issued rulings that will move the Charles Cook homicide case closer to trial.
Cook, a drifter who seemingly showed up in Indiana by chance in December of 1991, is accused of shooting to death 76-year-old Myrtle McGill at her home along South 6th Street. Cook was finally located in Minnesota in October of 2016. He’d been identified as the suspect based on DNA found on a cigarette butt found in McGill’s car, which investigators say he stole and abandoned in Pittsburgh after the shooting.
Judge Martin has ruled that discovery is not yet complete, and ordered defense attorney Aaron Ludwig and Senior Assistant District Attorneys Pamela Miller and Geoffrey Kugler to work complete that process within thirty days. He scheduled a hearing on defense motions for October 25th, and said Ludwig may amend his omnibus pretrial motion before then. Finally, the judge ruled that after defense motions are disposed of, he will schedule a status conference, with the intent to set a date to rule on all motions, schedule a pretrial conference, and set a trial date.
Cook is being held without bond at the Indiana County Jail. He’s charged with criminal homicide and robbery.
