Dwayne Thurman manslaughter trial likely delayed until March

The first-degree manslaughter trial against former Lincoln County reserve deputy Dwayne Thurman is expected to be moved Friday from Feb. 12 to March 26.

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor John Love said the parties will appear briefly before Superior Court Judge James Triplet on Friday to address a request by defense attorney Carl Oreskovich to delay the trial until the later date. Love said he will not object.

“We are still working on some things,” Love said.

Thurman was charged last May with first-degree manslaughter in connection to the Jan. 18, 2016, fatal shooting of his wife, Brenda Thurman. Thurman has said the shooting was an accident as he was trying to clean her gun.

However, Love charged him with first-degree manslaughter under the argument that Dwayne Thurman, through his service in the military and training as a reserve deputy, recklessly caused the death of his wife because of how he mishandled a loaded firearm.

Oreskovich previously said the case should not have led to criminal charges because it was a tragic accident. He put the request in to delay the trial.

“We are working the case up for trial and we needed a little more time,” he said.

In 2016, Spokane County Medical Examiner Sally Aiken ruled her death accidental.

But Aiken’s report also states Brenda Thurman had a bruising pattern “suggestive of domestic violence.”

Brenda Thurman’s children filed a civil wrongful death suit against Dwayne Thurman. That case settled in December and the cash agreement was not disclosed.