A murder trial in the death of a Holts Summit man was pushed back again Monday.
Amy Steward, of Holts Summit, charged in the April 2018 death of Holts Summit resident David Grant, appeared in court for a pre-trial conference. Her trial was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but has been pushed back by mutual agreement between her and the county's lawyers.
"In talking about the case those discussions included wanting to speak to the family of the victim," Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson said. "That happened last week."
He noted he has other tasks he wants to complete before a trial, and potential plea negotiations are ongoing.
The case is set for a status hearing May 20.
Wilson has previously noted that delays of this type are common in murder trials.
Steward, 46, faces 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.
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, 2018, to find the 67-year-old Grant fatally shot. 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.