TEXARKANA -- A woman accused of capital murder in the shooting death of a fellow square dancer is scheduled for an October jury trial.
Circuit Judge Joe Griffin set the trial date for Virginia Ann Hyatt, 65, at a hearing Tuesday in Miller County.
Prosecuting Attorney Carlton Jones said the state is not seeking the death penalty. That means Hyatt faces life without the possibility of parole if found guilty of planning and carrying out the Dec. 3 killing of Patricia "Patti" Wheelington, 59.
At Tuesday's hearing, Hyatt's lawyer, Bruce Condit of Texarkana, told Griffin that Hyatt has hired two additional lawyers to defend her. Condit said Texarkana attorneys Damon Young and John Pickett have filed notice of their involvement in the case.
Griffin scheduled the case for jury selection Oct. 20 and set a final pretrial hearing for Sept. 22.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katie Carter told Griffin she thinks it will take at least a week to try.
"There are a lot of witnesses," Condit said.
Hyatt is being held in the Miller County jail. She has been unable to post bond on a $1 million bail.
Hyatt believed Wheelington was to blame for problems in her marriage, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the case.
Hyatt and Wheelington were both members of the Guys and Dolls Squaredancing Club, which regularly met and danced on property owned by Wheelington.
Wheelington was found dead on her front porch on Valley Street in Texarkana.
The day before her death, Wheelington had all of the locks on her home changed because of problems she'd been having with Hyatt, who had shown up at Wheelington's home before, the affidavit said.
About 8 a.m., Wheelington was having coffee on her front porch while talking on her cellphone to a friend. Wheelington told the friend she would call him back because Hyatt was approaching her on the porch again, according to the affidavit.
After repeatedly trying to get Wheelington on the phone, the friend with whom she'd been speaking that morning sent another friend over to her house to check on her. Wheelington was found lying on the porch near her front door.
"Evidence shows at least five shots were fired and that several shots struck the victim," the affidavit states. "Based on the scene, it is apparent the victim was pursued across her front porch as she tried to make it to her front door while being shot at by the suspect."
The bullets recovered from the scene appear to have come from a handgun, such as a .38 or a .380. Hyatt's estranged husband, who recently had filed for divorce, told investigators that Hyatt owns a .38 Smith & Wesson Airweight pistol.
A gun was not recovered. Investigators acquired search warrants for Hyatt's home, her purse and her mother's home, as well as for cellphones belonging to both women.
October trial ...
State Desk on 07/12/2014