Letitia Davis murder trial pushed back

Wichita+Police+crime+scene+investigators+study+the+scene+where+Letitia+Davis%2C+36%2C+was+found+in+a+fire+Nov.+14+at+Fairmount+Park.

Wichita Police crime scene investigators study the scene where Letitia Davis, 36, was found in a fire Nov. 14 at Fairmount Park.

Nov. 14, 2014, Letitia Davis was walking through Fairmount Park near Wichita State when she was raped, beat, set on fire, and left for dead, according to police.

Nearly three years later, Davis’s accused attacker, Cornell McNeal, has not yet stood for jury trial.

The jury trial was scheduled to start Mon., Oct. 16, but has been continued, or postponed. A new date has not been set, according to Dan Dillon, the district attorney’s office spokesman.

Dillon said that, when the trial begins, it is expected to last two weeks due to the amount of evidence.

McNeal will face charges of capital or first-degree murder, rape, and arson.

Capital murder, which involves the rape and death of the same victim, is the only crime in Kansas that can warrant a death sentence.

McNeal has consistently refused talk to his own defense attorneys or answer inquiries from a judge, stalling the case. He has undergone multiple mental evaluations and was found fit to stand trial, according to Judge Warren Wilbert.

McNeal appeared in court Aug. 30 to resolve pre-trial motions.