Trials for the father of one of the kidnapped Iowa cousins will be moved to Davenport.
Daniel Morrissey, 36, father of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, was facing trials in Black Hawk County in connection with cases unrelated to the disappearance of his daughter and her cousin – one domestic abuse case and three cases involving drug charges.
KCRG reports Judge David Staudt said the court was unlikely to find an impartial jury to hear the cases in Black Hawk County because of the heavy publicity surrounding his daughter’s disapperance.
Court records show Judge Staudt ordered the trials be moved to the Scott County Court in Davenport, Iowa in a ruling he signed Monday, January 7, 2013. The ruling follows change of venue hearings held in December 2012.
New trial dates will be set at a January 18 hearing.
Morrissey’s ten-year-old daughter and her cousin disappeared when they went for a bike ride in July 2012. The bodies of the two girls were found by hunters in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Area in December.
