The final pre-trial hearings in the Michelle Sullins Reynolds murder case have been set for Jan. 12-13 in Floyd County Superior Court, Court Administrator Phil Hart said.

She was charged with the July 5, 2004, murder of her then-husband, Hollywood Baptist Church deacon Thad John Glenn Reynolds. He was found stabbed to death outside of his place of work — a Frito Lay distribution center on Calhoun Road.

Investigators maintain that Michelle Reynolds and Richard Scott Harper, who attended the same church, were having an affair and plotted to kill Thad Reynolds.

Police said Harper wielded the murder weapon.

In Oct. 2005, the district attorney announced her intention to seek the death penalty in both cases.

Jury selection in the five-year-old murder case involving Michelle Reynolds is tentatively scheduled to begin in the last week of January, and the entire month of February has been set aside to try the case.

Plea, reviews

slow case

On its rocky road to trial, the case has been slowed by a number of factors including the surprise guilty plea of co-defendant Richard Scott Harper a year ago and two trips to the Georgia Supreme Court for review.

Harper pleaded guilty in October 2008 to murder with the understanding that he would testify against Michelle Reynolds,

and that prosecutors would not seek death for either suspect.

He agreed to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole as part of the deal. He is unlikely to be sentenced until Reynolds’ trial is over.

However, the case will continue to be prosecuted as a standard death-penalty case.

The case has been sent to the Georgia Supreme Court twice for review further slowing down proceedings.

A review can be requested for any matter that might “arguably result in reversible error” on appeal, including change of venue, recusal of the trial judge, jury issues, motions to suppress evidence or exclude statements, motions for mental evaluation, and motions for expert assistance.

The high court can choose to review or deny any or all parts a court’s request.

Oral arguments in the Harper case were presented to the high court in October 2007 centering around whether the wrong person served on the Floyd County grand jury that indicted the two on murder charges. The high court voted 6-1 to return the case to presiding Judge J. Bryant Durham to make a determination about the grand juror issue.

However, Floyd County District Attorney Leigh Patterson dismissed the first indictment and re-indicted Harper and Reynolds on the same charges — removing the potential issue.

In February 2009, the Georgia Supreme Court denied a second interim appellate review in the case, which is a review of pre-trial orders issued by the local court.

Budget, legal issues have impact

A mix of state budget issues and confusion about a revamping of the statewide public defender system have further stalled an already the already complex case.

The announcement that the Floyd County District Attorney’s office was pursuing the death penalty came several months before the Jan. 1, 2005, establishment of the Georgia Capital Defender Office, at that time making it unclear as to who was responsible for footing the bill: Floyd County or the state of Georgia.

The county struck a deal with the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council in November 2005 and agreed to cover certain costs — the state agreed to pay for the costs of Reynolds’ case and attorney fees, after her indigency was declared.

That was before the GPDSC itself ran into budget issues.

The system was targeted by rounds of funding cuts since it started in 2005 and came under fire by legislators who said the agency wasn’t spending state funds appropriately.

Earlier this year Judge Durham confirmed all the budgetary hurdles have been cleared in order for the trial to begin.