Wesson trial delayed; back in court March 25

By Krisse Mansfield

A judge on Thursday delayed the arraignment of Marcus Wesson, accused of killing nine family members, for another week.

Judge Bryant K. Bramer gave Wesson the delay so he could spend time preparing with his lawyers, David Mugridge and Gary C. Harvey, who were present in court.

Wesson received an initial delay on Wednesday because he did not have a lawyer present and refused to let a public defender handle his case. Wesson told the court he had a lawyer but had not been able to contact him while in jail.

Wesson also said he had known the lawyer for five years. But on Thursday, Mugridge said he met Wesson just hours before appearing in court on his behalf. Wesson responded with yes or no answers to questions from the judge and only briefly spoke to his lawyers while in the courtroom.

Two of Wesson’s sons were present in court along with two females. They remained surrounded by victim’s service specialists until they were ushered out the back door of the courthouse.

During the session Mugridge also asked for visitation rights, claiming that not allowing Wesson contact with his family has made it difficult for him to determine how much financial support he has.

Bramer denied his request.

“ I don’t want to step on the sheriff’s toes until I can find out exactly why they did that (didn’t allow any visitors),” Bramer said. “We’ll discuss that at the next court date.”

Mugridge said it is still unclear if he and Harvey will be representing Wesson for his entire trial.

“ At this point, we need to realistically determine whether he can even afford to retain counsel,” Mugridge said.

Wesson was arrested Friday, March 12 when police discovered nine bodies in his home. Police came to the residence for a domestic violence call. Upon entering the house, police found the bodies stacked on top of each other in a back room and 10 caskets in another.

Wesson is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. for his arraignment.