Mo. judge gives deadline on murder-for-hire claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Federal prosecutors in Kansas City have until Dec. 19 to decide whether to present evidence at trial that a man accused of sex trafficking tried to hire someone to kill a top prosecutor.

The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/t5GO1I) reports that if the U.S. Attorney's Office pursues that claim, prosecutor Cynthia Cordes will be taken off the case involving a woman who says she was kept as a sex slave near Lebanon, Mo.

Earlier this year, prosecutors said 33-year-old Bradley Cook tried to hire a hit man to kill Cordes and the alleged victim. The claim was included in a motion to keep Cook incarcerated and move him to a different jail, which a judge approved.

Cook's attorney says there's no proof to support the murder-for-hire allegations.