The Charles Cook homicide trial is now officially before the State Superior Court after the office of the District Attorney filed an appeal last Thursday of pretrial rulings by Indiana County President Judge William Martin. On Friday, prosecutors filed a motion before the county court for the preservation of testimony that is already a part of the court record.
Cook is charged with criminal homicide and robbery in the shooting death of 76-year-old Myrtle McGill at her home along South 6th Street in Indiana. He was identified as a suspect in 2007 and finally located and arrested in Minnesota in 2016.
In a series of rulings for and against both the prosecution and defense last month, Judge Martin denied some prosecution evidence, while allowing other evidence with limitations. The D.A. has appealed the judge’s denial of motions to reconsider the admissibility of Cook’s arrest in Montana and some mental health records.
Cook’s trial is now off the court schedule and the case is listed as closed pending a decision by the appeals court. Superior Court has set April 4th as the deadline to receive the docketing statement and May 10th to receive the original court record.
