HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — On Monday the families of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions learned the man accused of killing them, Kylr Yust, will not go on trial for at least another year.
There was an audible gasp from the families in the courtroom when the defense attorney first said she wouldn't be ready until the fall of next year.
The families were visibly upset following Monday's hearing. They have been asked not to comment at the request of the prosecutor's office.
In the court, Yust's public defender, Sharon Turlington, said she's booked with other trials through September 2019.
Turlington added she has to review at least 12,000 pages of documents and hours of video.
The Cass County prosecutor agreed and said they'll need at least eight days to go over evidence once the trial begins.
Jury selection will begin Oct. 31, 2019. Attorneys for both sides agreed in September that the trial will take place in Cass County, but the jury will be with residents from St. Charles County across the state.
The trial itself is set to begin Nov. 4, 2019. They've blocked out two weeks for the trial.
The remains of Kopetsky, 17, and Runions, 21, were found in spring 2017 in rural Cass County. Kopetsky went missing in 2007, and Runions disappeared nearly 10 years later in 2016.
Yust is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abandoning a corpse.
Yust’s half-brother died last month at the Jackson County Jail. Jessep Carter had been listed as a potential witness in Yust’s trial.
There will be another hearing on Jan. 22, 2019 so both the defense and prosecution can give the judge an update.
