The second jury trial of Frank Bowen, 26, in the 2014 murder of his friend Joseph Graley III, 31, of Bethel Twp., Miami County, was continued Monday, Nov. 16, as potential jurors were arriving at the courthouse.
Judge Christopher Gee said during a brief hearing in Common Pleas Court that over the weekend he experienced “an acute medical condition that needs attention today.”
Gee met with prosecutors and defense lawyers in private before the hearing. The trial was scheduled for five days. Gee said it could be started yet this week. However, he added, there were concerns about the trial and deliberations continuing into next week and “the potential impact on jurors’ plans for the Thanksgiving holiday” and how concerns could impact deliberations.
Gee said a new trial date would be set as soon as possible.
Bowen’s first trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial Aug. 4 when jurors said they would be unable to agree on verdicts on charges of murder, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. The jury reached a guilty verdict on a charge of safecracking.
Graley’s body was found Oct. 23, 2014, beneath a brush pile in the backyard of his home off Scarff Road. Investigators said he died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.
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