The Lawrence man charged with murdering his wife asked a judge Thursday to change conditions of his bond so he can go to church and have supervised visits with his children as he awaits trial.

But Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin deferred to the juvenile court judge who is supervising the welfare of Martin K. Miller’s two junior-high aged children. Martin said she’d only allow contact as allowed by the juvenile judge and only after Miller had a preliminary hearing.

Marty Miller, left, and his attorney, Mike Riling, walk to the Douglas County Judicial & Law Enforcement Center. Miller, 45, appeared Thursday in court to ask a judge to allow him to visit his two children while awaiting trial. The children are listed as witnesses against Miller.

“We will leave it up to the juvenile judge to determine what’s appropriate,” Martin said.

Miller, a 45-year-old carpenter and former Christian-school trustee, is out of jail on $150,000 bond as he awaits trial for the first-degree murder of his wife, 46-year-old Mary E. Miller.

One condition of his bond is that he have no contact with witnesses, and his children are to be called as witnesses in the case. They were home July 28 at the time of Mary Miller’s death at the family’s home at 2105 Carolina St.

“The state is opposed to any kind of modification that would allow for contact with any of the witnesses listed on the complaint,” Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney said.

Miller and his children are members of Victory Bible Church, 1942 Mass.

Miller’s attorney, Michael Riling, said he’s still waiting for police reports and an autopsy report. Kenney said she wouldn’t say how police believe Mary Miller died until the facts of the case came out in court hearings.

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