Trial delayed in toddler’s drowning death case
The Associated Press - November 1, 2017 2:15 pm
Devin Sizemore
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) – A trial for an Oklahoma man who’s facing a first-degree murder charge in the 2015 drowning death of his daughter has been delayed until early next year.
Court records show 22-year-old Devin Sizemore’s trial was scheduled to begin in November at the Pittsburg County Courthouse in McAlester.
The McAlester News-Capital reports the continuance comes as attorneys make legal arguments as to whether the child’s death occurred on Native American land and whether the defendant should be tried by the federal government instead of the state.
The defense contends that Pittsburg County is part of the Choctaw Nation and therefore the case should be tried in federal court. Prosecutors say Sizemore should be tried by the state.
The trial is now set to begin Jan. 8.