Trial delayed in fatal shooting near Topeka school

? The trial of a woman charged in the fatal shooting on the grounds of a Topeka high school has been delayed.

Twenty-year-old Samantha L. Hochard of Topeka was scheduled to go on trial Monday on first-degree murder and other charges. But a judge delayed the trial until May 17 after her attorneys asked for more time to prepare their case.

Hochard is one of three people charged in the Oct. 23, 2010, death of 20-year-old Matthew C. Mitchell of Topeka. Mitchell’s friend was shot five times but survived.

The other defendants are 21-year-old Coty Rylan Newman and 19-year-old Austin Craig Tabor, both of Topeka.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that prosecutors say the late-night shooting on the Topeka West High School campus occurred during a drug buy.