A Christian County Circuit Court judge has granted a motion to continue the trial date of a Hopkinsville woman charged with murder after new DNA evidence was brought to the attention of the prosecutor prior to a hearing Monday morning.
Larayna Manning is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of 70-year old Calvin Taylor, who was found inside his North Kentucky Avenue home on October 12, 2020.
Manning and her attorney, Jason Pfeil appeared virtually before Judge Andrew Self with Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling appearing in the courtroom Monday morning for counsel to tie up any loose ends before the trial starts on Tuesday.
Boling announced he would be filing a motion to continue the trial after he received a phone call prior to his court appearance regarding a female’s DNA being found on the duct tape used to bound Taylor’s mouth and hands.
click to download audioWhen asked by Judge Self if the DNA hasn’t been tested yet how do they know it’s from a female, Boling explained the breakdown the lab has done thus far shows it’s a female but they don’t have any DNA for comparison to a specific person.
click to download audioPfeil responded they are ready for the trial to start Tuesday.
Judge Self added he’s also ready to go to trial Tuesday, but he has concerns about the DNA information revealed at the hearing that could be a potential piece of critical evidence.
During an afternoon hearing, Judge Self heard arguments from both sides and granted Boling’s motion to continue the trial, citing the potential impact the DNA evidence could have in the case. Judge Self did not set a new trial date but he scheduled a pretrial conference for February 2 at 1:00 p.m.
Manning’s son, Anthony Manning accepted a plea deal with the commonwealth in connection to the case. As part of the agreement, Anthony entered a guilty plea to the facilitation of complicity to commit murder and first-degree facilitation of complicity to commit robbery each charge carrying a five-year sentence to run concurrently. Manning reportedly drove his mother, Larayna, to Taylor’s home which led to his death. During the sentencing, Boling added there was no evidence Anthony was involved in the planning of the murder and robbery or had any involvement in connection to the actual crime.
