Trial of accused triple murderer Andres ‘Andy’ Avalos delayed to May

The trial of triple-murder defendant Andres “Andy” Avalos Jr. has been delayed until May.

Avalos is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 4, 2014, slayings of his wife Amber Avalos, neighbor Denise Potter and the Rev. James “Tripp” Battle.

If convicted, Avalos will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

Last month, Avalos’s defense filed notice with the court of its intention to use an insanity defense. Additionally, the defense asked the trial be delayed because a neuroradiologist — said to be a key witness to his insanity defense —would be unavailable during the trial period scheduled to begin Oct. 17.

On Friday afternoon, both sides appeared before Circuit Judge Diana Moreland and with her selected May 8 as a new trial date.

Assistant State Attorney Art Brown said he had no objection to the continuance because they still did not have a Supreme Court-approved set of jury instructions.

A neuroradiologist reviewed PET scans of Avalos brain and determined that his brain was severally abnormal, according to court documents filed by defense attorney Andrew Crawford.

“He’s essential to the penalty phase and the guilt phase,” Crawford said Friday.

Moreland went through her schedule with the attorneys, citing multiple death penalty cases scheduled for the first half of 2017.

“In my world, the best month would be either March or May,” Moreland said.

Brown and Crawford both agreed May would work best.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Trial of accused triple murderer Andres ‘Andy’ Avalos delayed to May."