Judge Grants Defense Motion In Murder Case

Thursday, October 11th 2007, 7:08 am

By: News On 6

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) _ Defense attorneys for a man accused of killing a 10-year-old Purcell girl last year can question jurors about their willingness to impose the death penalty. McClain County District Judge Candace Blalock also heard several other motions Wednesday in the case of Kevin Underwood, who is set to go on trial in February for the gruesome slaying of Jamie Rose Bolin.

According to court documents, Underwood killed the child April 12th, 2006, after beating her over the head with a cutting board, then smothering her with his hands and duct tape.

Authorities allege Underwood told them he planned to further molest the body and consume the flesh after a few days.

Blalock sided with defense attorneys who wanted to access to the content of a computer hard drive that belonged to a woman who corresponded with Underwood on the Internet.

Prosecutors argued the hard drive contained Melissa Custer's personal information that would be irrelevant in the case.

Defense attorneys wanted the information because it may establish Custer's character or relationship to Underwood.

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