photo by: Chris Conde/Special to the Journal-World

Julius Beasley appears on Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024, in Douglas County District Court. He has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the stabbing death of a woman at an unsanctioned homeless camp in North Lawrence.

A Douglas County judge agreed on Wednesday to delay the trial of a man accused of stabbing a woman to death in a tent at a homeless camp in North Lawrence.

Julius Robert Beasley, 41, of Lawrence, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 51-year-old Crystal Marie White on Feb. 22, 2024. White died at a camp that was once home to dozens of unhoused residents at 100 Maple St. in North Lawrence. The campsite has since been shut down, as the Journal-World reported.

Beasley was scheduled to go to trial on the charge on June 16. At a two-part preliminary hearing last fall, nearly a dozen former camp residents testified about the drug activity at the camp and hearing White’s cries before she was found dead with multiple stab wounds.

photo by: Contributed

Crystal White

On Wednesday Beasley’s attorneys, Branden Smith and Angela Keck, asked Judge Stacey Donovan to delay the trial. Smith said they needed more time to secure and review expert reports related to White’s death, in addition to needing time to review evidence turned over by law enforcement.

Smith also filed several motions just before the hearing asking that the state turn over any additional evidence it might use at trial, to designate law enforcement experts for trial, and to turn over any material related to White being a confidential informant for law enforcement.

Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald said that he did not object to Beasley’s request for a continuance but he was confused by the defense’s other motions.

He said the state has turned over every bit of evidence it has and that the motion related to law enforcement lacked any specificity for him to act upon. He said he had no knowledge or information that showed Smith was an informant for police.

Donovan granted Beasley the continuance and told the parties to discuss the pending motions ahead of the next court date. When Donovan asked Smith when the defense would be ready for trial, Smith asked the court to set the case for another hearing on the motions filed on Wednesday, to be followed by another pretrial motions hearing at which a trial could be scheduled.

Donovan agreed and set the next hearing for May 7. Beasley is currently in custody at the Douglas County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Beasley’s trial delay marks the second murder trial in a week to be pushed back in Donovan’s courtroom and the third in the last month in Douglas County.

Cir Allen Glover, 19, of Lawrence, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Isaiah Neal, of Lawrence, on June 13, 2024. His trial was delayed after Neal’s mother, a key witness in the case, was charged in connection with another gun crime.

Rodney Ericson Marshall, 54, of Lawrence, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and numerous other major felonies in connection with the shooting deaths of Shelby McCoy, 52, and William D. O’Brien, 43, on July 31, 2022. His trial was delayed after his attorneys, Matthew Cohen and Cline Boone, said they needed more time to secure an expert who could bolster the argument that Marshall acted in self-defense. Judge Amy Hanley granted that continuance to avoid any prejudice against Marshall or the prosecution, who would need time to review any reports the defense produced.