The second capital murder trial for a man accused of killing his cousin has been continued to another court term.
Derrick Bankhead, 39, was scheduled to appear before a jury this week for the alleged murder of his cousin, 35-year-old Eddie Bankhead. The case was continued Monday after parties needing to be present were out sick, according to Lowndes County circuit clerk’s office.
A jury in Lowndes County convicted Derrick Bankhead in September 2016. Less than a month later, Circuit Judge Lee Coleman granted him a new trial after learning District Attorney Scott Colom had a conflict of interest in prosecuting the case.
Bankhead’s attorney, Mark Williamson of Starkville, showed evidence that Colom stood-in as a public defender to represent Bankhead in a preliminary hearing shortly after the suspect’s arrest in 2011. Colom said he had forgotten the instance.
Patrick Beasley, attorney with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, is set to prosecute the new trial. Beasley could not be reached for comment by press time.
A new trial date has not been set.
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