Accused killer Johnathen Thacker is scheduled for June 16 trial date, according to LeFlore County District Attorney Jeff Smith.
At a District Court hearing on Friday (Jan. 31) before Judge Jon Sullivan, Thacker was ordered to appear in court again on March 28 for a status update on his lawyers’ efforts to obtain evidence tapes from the Fort Smith Police Department, officials said.
Johnathen Thacker and his brother, Elvis Thacker, are charged with first-degree murder and forcible sodomy in the death of 22-year-old Brianna Ault in 2010. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
No trial date has been set for Elvis Thacker yet so his attorney, Gretchen Mosley, can review the transcript from his preliminary hearing in November 2013, Smith said.
Ault’s body was found in a pond near Pocola on Sept. 13, 2010. Her throat had been slashed, according to police reports. After slashing Ault’s throat, the suspects drove to Cedarville to dispose of the weapon and change clothes, then drove to Fort Smith, where they set Ault’s car on fire, according to court documents.
