BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A judge has set a trial date for a Blytheville man accused of murdering a woman who was in her eighth month of pregnancy.
Prosecutors have charged 23-year-old Justin Mangum with two counts of capital murder for the 2009 slaying of 24-year-old Sonya Stokes and her unborn child. The trial is to begin on Oct. 31.
Police say Stokes' mother found her daughter's body after getting a phone call from her grandchildren, ages 5 and 3.
Mangum was released on bond in May 2010 after Circuit Judge Victor Hill ruled that a confession Mangum made to police was coerced.
Mangum has pleaded not guilty.
