Hearings in Cook case pushed to January

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November 17, 2016 - 12:00 AM

The preliminary hearing for one of the five suspects accused of the murder of Iolan Shawn Cook will not occur before the new year.
Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway told the Register Wednesday that Rhonda Jackson — originally scheduled to have her preliminary hearing Dec. 2 — instead will have another status hearing that day.
Jackson, 50, is charged with first-degree murder, along with Amber Boeken, 25, Joshua Knapp, 35, James Myers, 60, and Jessica Epting, 33. Jackson, Myers, Epting and Boeken are from Iola; Knapp from Fort Scott.
Status hearings for all five are scheduled through December and early January.
Hathaway said he expected to sit down with attorneys representing each of the five defendants some time in January to map out hearing schedules.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Cook’s March 13 death continues.
“We’re still waiting on some lab reports,” he said.
In addition, investigators have interviewed dozens of others, either purported witnesses or otherwise involved in the case.

COOK, 33, was last seen by relatives on March 13; they reported him missing four days later.
His disappearance sparked a 16-day, countywide manhunt before his body was discovered northwest of Iola along the Neosho River.
Boeken was arrested March 21, and Knapp on March 24 on unrelated charges, before Hathaway announced they would be charged with first-degree murder April 28.
Murder charges were filed against Jackson, Myers and Epting in late July. Jackson and Myers were taken into custody that day; Epting remained at large until she was arrested Sept. 9 in Topeka.

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