Prosecutors recently filed a notice to appeal a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City. As a result, the trial that had been set for September is being pushed back again, according to court records.
No new trial date has been set, pending the outcome of the appeal.
The trial had been set to start in late February but was delayed until September when Fell’s attorneys said they needed more time to prepare his defense.
Fell, 36, is awaiting a death penalty retrial on charges that he abducted and killed Teresca King, 53, of North Clarendon, as she showed up in the early morning to work at a downtown Rutland supermarket more than 16 years ago.
Fell’s first trial ended with his conviction and a death sentence that years later was overturned after revelations of juror misconduct.
The latest appeal by prosecutors centers on the admissibility of statements by Robert Lee, an alleged accomplice in King’s killing. Lee has since died in prison.
The two men, according to court records, were allegedly fleeing the slayings of Fell’s mother and her friend when they carjacked King in the downtown supermarket’s parking lot.
Vermont doesn’t have the death penalty. However, because King was beaten and killed in New York state after her abduction in Rutland, federal prosecutors took jurisdiction and are seeking the death penalty for Fell, court records state.
