While a change of venue could still occur at some point down the road, it appears for the time being the criminal trial of the accused killers of Bob and Ellen Sheldon of Carthage will remain in Jasper County.
Darren Winans, 22, of Jasper and Matthew Laurin, 19, of Springfield, are charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and burglary in connection with the October 2008 death of the owners of the Old Cabin Shop west of Carthage.
Concerning the change of venue, it’s the court’s intentions, Circuit Judge Gayle Crane said on Monday, to “obtain jurors out of Jasper County” and to “bring them down here.”
As of now, “we are prepared to do it that way,” Crane said.
As far as the motion to try the defendants separately was concerned, Crane said for now the two cases will be kept together, at least through the discovery process, but they could be separated once the actual trials begin.
Carthage Press
