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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Trial for Idaho birthday party stabbing pushed back to 2020

Ibod Hasn, center, talks to a friend who came to visit after Saturday’s stabbing attack in Boise, Idaho, Sunday, July 1, 2018. A man who had been asked to leave an Idaho apartment complex because of bad behavior returned the next day and stabbed people, including several children, at a toddler’s birthday party, police said. (Meiying Wu / Idaho Statesman)
Associated Press

BOISE – The trial for an Idaho man accused of stabbing nine people, including a 3-year-old girl celebrating her birthday who later died, has been pushed back by a year after defense attorneys argued they needed more time to prepare for a high-profile death penalty case.

Judge Nancy Baskin on Thursday agreed to move Timmy Earl Kinner Jr.’s trial to Jan. 13, 2020, the Idaho Statesman reported.

It was previously set to begin Jan. 31, 2019.

Kinner is charged with one count of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of the girl, and eight counts of aggravated assault for the June attack at a refugee family’s birthday party in Boise.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Kinner’s attorneys requested the trial date change, arguing that it would take a year to prepare for the case. The prosecution didn’t object.

“Based on my understanding of the time frames for death penalty cases in this and other jurisdictions, I think that’s pretty much within what we expect to see or what we’ve seen in the past on these types of cases,” Deputy Prosecutor Dan Dinger said.

Defense attorney David Smethers listed numerous reasons, including needing to get “all kinds of experts,” a challenge to the grand jury transcript and motions related to the indictment. He also referenced Kinner’s extensive criminal history in other states, including Tennessee and California.

This is the second time Kinner’s trial has been delayed.

Court officials have previously said they expect the trial will take about eight weeks.