The bench trial for a Quincy woman facing first-degree murder charges after a DUI crash in 2020 has been pushed back to this summer.
Muddy River News reports that 39 year old Natasha McBride appeared in Adams County Circuit Court yesterday on a motion to reset her bench trial date before Judge Tad Brenner.
Brenner set the dates for the bench trial to be May 1-3. However, Public Defender Todd Nelson filed a motion to continue the case on March 3rd, and Brenner removed the trial from the May calendar.
Nelson told Brenner during yesterday’s status that both experts he intends to call in this case — one from Springfield, one from Chicago — would be available between July 17 and August. Nelson and Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Eyler said they thought setting aside three days would be sufficient for the trial.
Brenner picked July 31 and Aug. 1-2 for the bench trial.
McBride faces four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of reckless homicide, four counts of driving on a revoked license and four courts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident. The charges stem from the death of 54 year old Jennifer Hendricks of Rushville and her three grandchildren in a traffic collision on August 14, 2020, in which McBride is alleged to have a ran a stop light and collided with a vehicle carrying Hendricks and her family at Fourth & Broadway in Quincy. McBride is also alleged to have been driving under the influence when the crash occurred.
McBride remains held in the Adams County Jail on $5 million bond.