LEBANON, Mo. (AP) - The trial of a suburban Kansas City lawyer charged with killing her father and his girlfriend has been delayed from February and the prosecution will now include members of the Missouri Attorney General's office.
Susan Van Note, 47, of Lee's Summit, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the October 2010 shooting deaths of William Van Note, 67, and Sharon Dickson, 59, at their home on the Lake of the Ozarks. Dickson died at the scene but William Van Note was hospitalized.
Prosecutors allege Susan Van Note persuaded doctors to remove her father from life support after she forged durable power of attorney documents.
During a pre-trial conference Monday, a Laclede County Circuit Court judge granted the prosecution's request for a continuance, although no new trial date was set. Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Gilley will be assisted by Kevin Zoellner from the Missouri Attorney General's office. Gilley said it is fairly common to have the attorney general's office assist in high-profile cases.
The case has seen several legal twists since William Van Note died. Susan Van Note was named personal representative of her father's estate in February 2011 but that power was suspended in September 2012 after she was charged.
David Holdsworth, who was appointed to replace her, filed a petition in November 2012 asking that she be ordered to return estate property she had used for herself. Van Note claimed she couldn't return the property because she had used the money to post $1 million cash bond in the murder case. She has been out of jail on $1 million bail.
However, she was found in contempt of court in July 2013 after the probate court received evidence that the $1 million cash bond was replaced with a $250,000 criminal bond and that Van Note had the financial means to return the property.