Two murder trials scheduled for this week have been pushed back.
Amy Steward, a Holts Summit woman charged in the April death of Holts Summit resident David Grant, and Conrad Schmitt II, an O'Fallon man charged for the 1981 death of Ricky Ridings, will go to trial at later dates. Those dates will be mutually agreed upon by defense and prosecution.
"In my experience, the adoption of a scheduling order and special trial settings are very common in first-degree murder cases," Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Wilson said Tuesday. "In fact, that has been the case in nearly every murder case I have handled."
He added both trials are likely to last two or more days, which requires a special setting.
"We also need that setting to realistically reflect the time necessary for both sides to be ready to go," Wilson said.
Steward, 45, was initially scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, delivery of a controlled substance and making a false report. She pleaded not guilty Aug. 13. The defense's motion to continue, filed Monday, was granted without objection.
"I will be working with Steward's lawyers in the coming weeks to come up with dates that are mutually agreeable," Wilson said. "The court then has to authorize what we propose and set a jury trial date."
According to law enforcement and neighbors, Steward was in a relationship with Grant and was living with him at the time of his death. Per the probable cause statement filed by Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism, Steward initially told police she'd returned home at 1:30 a.m. April 27 to find the 67-year-old Grant shot dead. She also stated a safe containing "a large quantity of marijuana" and $15,000 in cash was missing from the residence.
Steward told deputies she had spent the prior evening at a friend's house. That alibi fell apart when the friend told deputies Steward left by about 10:30 p.m. A search of Steward's phone revealed a text from her to the friend instructing him to tell police she'd been at his home playing Scrabble.
Steward then told deputies one of Grant's daughters had killed him, before switching the story to pin the blame on a man referred to as J.S. She claimed J.S. had assaulted her and forced her to accompany him to steal from Grant. However, a search of J.S.'s residence failed to turn up the missing items or murder weapon.
Later, Steward told investigators she had put the missing safe in a storage unit April 26. At the unit, deputies found two safes, 7 pounds of marijuana and 9mm ammunition (Grant was shot using a 9mm handgun, a medical examiner concluded). Surveillance footage captured Steward visiting the unit 12:53-1:10 a.m. April 27.
Schmitt background
Schmitt, 65, was also scheduled to face trial Tuesday. His public defender requested a continuance until 2020.
"The trial date, as well as the other milestones set forth in the scheduling order, reflect the amount of time the defense attorneys believe they need to accomplish all the tasks necessary and be ready for jury trial," Wilson said. "Given that this is a 'cold case' homicide that is decades old, they felt they needed considerable time to be properly prepared to defend Mr. Schmitt."
Schmitt's trial is now scheduled for Jan. 22, 2020, with pre-trial conferences Nov. 18 and Jan. 21, 2020.
Schmitt was indicted for the decades-old crime in May and pleaded not guilty May 30. He is currently serving a life sentence for a 1995 first-degree murder case in St. Charles County.
Deputies responded July 8, 1981, to a report of human remains found in a vehicle parked alongside Little Tavern Creek in the southeast part of the county outside of Portland, according to information from the Callaway County Sheriff's Department.
The body eventually was identified as Ridings, who had been reported missing by his family June 30, 1981. It was determined he died from a shotgun wound to the head.
In June 2017, sheriff's officials received new information on the case, and investigators from the Department of Corrections and detectives from the O'Fallon Police Department assisted in the investigation.
In March of this year, the information gathered was turned over to the Callaway County Prosecutor's Office. That eventually led to the charge and indictment of Schmitt.