The conclusion of a hearing to determine whether Marvin Williford should receive a new trial in the burning death of a North Chicago man has been postponed from this week until mid-December.
Williford is seeking a retrial in his 2004 murder conviction for setting Delwin Foxworth of North Chicago on fire in 2000. Foxworth died of his injuries in a nursing home two years later.
Initially, the hearing was to take place over two dates last week and a third one on Monday, but the presiding judge, Daniel Shanes, notified the parties before Monday’s hearing that his trial schedule will not allow him to continue hearing evidence in the case until November.
On Tuesday morning, Shanes scheduled two more dates to complete the hearing — Nov. 21 and Dec. 15. Officials estimated that the entire hearing will require four dates as opposed to three as initially planned.
A status hearing that will not include testimony was also scheduled for Oct. 25.
In the first two hearings last week, defense attorney David Owens focused on DNA results that he claims raise issues that deserve a new trial, and attacked the credibility of eyewitness testimony in the trial that was key in Williford’s conviction.
Owens has said that due a lack of physical evidence, including a profile identifying Williford among the DNA samples tested from the crime scene, Williford’s conviction should be vacated.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ari Fisz has said Williford was not convicted on DNA evidence, and that the eyewitness testimony, as well as evidence of a motive in the case — money owed to Williford by Foxworth — helped jurors reach what he believes is the correct verdict.
Williford is currently serving an 80-year prison term for the murder.
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