COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Chillicothe man twice convicted in the 1990 slaying of a Missouri farm wife is headed back to court with a likely trial date next April before a Columbia judge.
Mark Woodworth was 16 when his neighbor, Cathy Robertson, was shot to death while she slept in her northwest Missouri home. Her husband, the business partner of Woodworth's father, survived the shooting. Woodworth is now 36 and serving a life sentence for murder.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled earlier this month Woodworth may present new testimony as part of his latest post-conviction appeal. The court appointed Boone County Circuit Judge Gary Oxenhandler as its special master.
Oxenhandler wants lawyers for Woodworth and the state to file pretrial documents by Dec. 13. He expects the trial to start in April.