A 48-year-old Eudora man charged with first-degree murder will stand trial next month after formally rejecting a plea deal Friday.

The man, Ronald Eugene Heskett, is accused of killing a 65-year-old disabled Lawrence man in his care on Sept. 12, 2014. Prosecutors alleged at a preliminary hearing that Heskett suffocated Vance “Van” Moulton for financial reasons, but Heskett claimed in a police interview that it was an assisted suicide.

Moulton had cerebral palsy and had limited mobility. Heskett worked as a home health care attendant for Moulton, who was found dead with a towel around his neck at his residence at Prairie Ridge Place Apartments, 2424 Melrose Lane.

Vance Van Moulton

On Friday, Senior Assistant District Attorney Eve Kemple told District Judge Peggy Kittel that she’d offered Heskett the chance to plead guilty as charged, and in return she would have allowed Heskett to argue “mitigating factors” at sentencing. That would have meant Heskett could have been eligible for a 25 years to life sentence, instead of the mandatory “Hard 50” — or 50 years to life.

Instead, Heskett elected to try his case before a jury. His trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 14 — just two days after the anniversary of Moulton’s death.

Ronald Eugene Heskett, 49, of Eudora, appears in court Aug. 14, 2015. Heskett is charged with first-degree murder in the September 2014 death of 65-year-old disabled Lawrence resident, Vance Van Moulton.

Heskett will return to court Aug. 25, when his attorney and prosecutors will argue pretrial motions. According to Friday’s hearing, the state will be asking Kittel to allow them to inform jurors of Heskett’s “previous crimes or civil wrongs.”

According to Douglas County court records, the IRS had taken Heskett to court in 2001, and a debt collector had taken him to court in 2013.

Heskett’s attorney, Mike Warner, will be arguing a motion in limine, or a motion to ask the judge to ban certain evidence from being introduced at trial.

Heskett remains in the Douglas County Jail on a $500,000 bond.