Nevada District Judge Miriam Shearing ruled Tuesday that two Utah teenagers, believed associated with members of a satanic cult, will stand trial separately on charges of killing a Las Vegas convenience store clerk.
Attorneys for Joseph Beeson asked that the trials be severed. The June 6 trial date for Beeson and Edward Bennett was set aside.Shearing ordered Beeson, 18, Orem, Utah, to appear for trial July 25, and Bennett, 19, Lehi, Utah, is scheduled for trial Sept. 6.
Prosecutor Mel Harmon said Tuesday that if defense attorneys had not asked for separate trials, the state would have made the motion because statements given police by the suspects implicate each other.
Beeson and Bennett are charged with killing Michelle Moore, 21, a clerk at a Stop `N Go convenience store.