Hearing postponed for teen in fatal accident

A hearing to determine if a Lawrence teenager will be tried as an adult for involuntary manslaughter has been postponed until next month.

Ashleigh N. Juola, 18, had been scheduled for a Monday hearing before Douglas County District Court Judge Jack Murphy. That hearing was continued to 3 p.m. Feb. 7. Prosecutors and defense attorneys wanted more time to prepare.

Juola was 17 the night of Sept. 18, 2002, when Heather Coulter, 24, Lawrence, was hit by a car on Iowa Street near 19th Street. Coulter, a social worker, died Sept. 24 at KU Med, Kansas City, Kan.

Juola was then charged as a juvenile with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol. She was charged as an adult with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Juola is being held in the Douglas County Jail without bond. After she was charged last year she was placed on house arrest and later sent to jail for violating conditions of that house arrest, court officials said.

Sex crime suspect waives right to hearing

A former Lawrence school aide charged with drugging three women and attempting to rape one of them in August waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.

The 21-year-old man will have an arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 27 during which he will formally enter a plea. A trial date will be set.

The suspect was arrested after three women, all Kansas University students at the time, told police they thought they’d been drugged while at the man’s house.

The suspect faces charges of attempted rape, three counts of aggravated battery, three counts of sale and distribution of an anti-anxiety drug, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was a paraprofessional with Lawrence public schools. He no longer is employed by the district.

The Journal-World generally does not name sex crime suspects until they are convicted.