A September 29th trial date has been set for one of the three suspects charged with the murder of 55-year-old Christopher Melton of Vincennes. 39-year-old Robert Malone appeared in Knox Circuit Court Monday for his initial hearing. The court appointed attorney Brian Jewel to represent Malone after it was determined he didn’t have sufficient funds to hire an attorney to represent him.
Judge Sherry Gregg-Gilmore also granted two motions by Jewel. The first was a request to hire an investigator to assist with preparing Malone’s defense. The other was a gag order to prevent police and other officials from discussing details about the case. Jewel indicated that this is a high profile murder case and leaking information could be detrimental to his client receiving a fair trial.
Malone is facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder and two additional counts of murder in Melton’s death. Police discovered Melton’s body April 25th in his North Sixth Street home. Authorities say he died of a single gunshot would to the head.
Two other suspects in the case are scheduled to be arraigned today