Underwood Attorneys Seek To Move Trial

Tuesday, January 16th 2007, 6:32 pm

By: News On 6

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) _ The attorneys for a Purcell man accused of killing a 10-year-old girl in a cannibalistic plot have filed a motion seeking to move the trial out of McClain County, court officials said Tuesday.

Attorneys for Kevin Ray Underwood filed the application for a change of venue on Friday. Underwood's attorney, Silas Lyman, argues in court briefs that the trial should be moved because of extensive pretrial publicity surrounding the case.

McClain County District Judge Candace Blalock likely will schedule a hearing to determine if the trial should be moved, said Linda Turner, Blalock's bailiff.

Underwood, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Jamie Rose Bolin, who lived with her father in the same apartment complex as Underwood. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The brutal case shocked the residents of this small community, about 40 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Investigators found the girl's nude body in a plastic tub inside Underwood's bedroom closet after he raised the suspicions of officers at a police checkpoint and let them search his apartment.

After Underwood's arrest, police and prosecutors held a press conference in which they revealed grisly details of the crime, saying Underwood raped the girl's corpse and planned to eat her flesh.

A medical examiner's report released later indicated there were signs of sexual assault, but could not determine if they were inflicted after her death. The cause of death was listed as asphyxia.

A judge later granted Underwood's defense attorney's request for a gag order that prohibited attorneys and law enforcement from discussing the case publicly.