ST. CHARLES — Prosecutors on Wednesday cited pending lab tests in a request to delay the upcoming trial of a Geneva man accused of killing his wife earlier this year.
Shadwick King, 47, has been indicted on two counts of murder in the death of his wife of 10 years, Kathleen, whose body was found on July 6 on Union Pacific railroad tracks. King has maintained a speedy trial demand since his arrest and was scheduled to go on trial Dec. 8. He remains held in Kane County Jail on $1.5 million bail.
Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Sams told Judge James Hallock during a Wednesday hearing that lab tests, including DNA, are not likely to be completed in time for the planned trial date. He said the Illinois State Police crime lab had been notified of the speedy trial aspect of the case, but that a backlog at the lab remains an issue. Sams said the test results are a relevant part of the state’s case, which is why a continuance is allowable within the framework of speedy trial rules.
Hallock granted Sams’ request and scheduled the trial for Feb. 2 over the objection of King’s attorney, Kane County Public Defender Kelli Childress. She argued Sams had not shown due diligence, including seeking out alternate labs, in his attempts to have the testing completed before the original trial date.
Prosecutors allege King killed his wife “by means of asphyxia” and left her on the tracks south of Esping Park not far from the couple’s home on Oak Street in Geneva. Family members told police it was unlikely Kathleen would go for a run that early in the morning or near the tracks, according to police reports contained in court records. A train conductor reported a body on the tracks just before 7 a.m. on July 6.
Childress took issue with Union Pacific Railroad’s handling of subpoenas she issued seeking information relating to the stretch of train tracks where Kathleen King was located, as well as to identify two witnesses she called “essential” to her case. Childress filed a request Monday for the railroad to turn over documents and other information related to two sets of tracks along a six-mile stretch of the Union Pacific territory that includes the Geneva area. She also wants UP to identify the dispatcher who took the initial call from the conductor about the body and called 911 in Kane County and a second dispatcher who ordered a “block” on train traffic.
Union Pacific previously released a video of the tracks where the body was found, but had not yet responded to the most recent subpoena because of the short timing, a Union Pacific attorney told Hallock. The attorney added she was hesitant to release contact information for either dispatcher and questioned whether they were material witnesses, although she would accept witness subpoenas at their work address if needed.
Childress responded sternly, saying subpoenas for audio recordings of the calls to and from the dispatchers were not an issue to Union Pacific, so calling the dispatchers as witnesses shouldn’t be problematic. Hallock agreed the dispatchers are material witnesses. He ordered a Dec. 12 hearing on the witness subpoenas for the dispatchers.