photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Rodney Marshall is pictured on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at his double-murder trial with defense attorney Jennifer Amyx.

Closing arguments in Rodney Marshall’s double-murder trial that were scheduled to be heard Thursday afternoon are now slated for Friday morning in Douglas County District Court.

The schedule change was due to the court and parties needing more time to complete jury instructions.

Sixteen jurors heard five days of evidence before the defense rested on Wednesday. Four of those jurors are alternates in the event any jurors become unable to participate in what was expected to be a three-week trial.

Marshall, 55, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Shelby McCoy and William O’Brien, four counts of attempted capital murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of fleeing and eluding law enforcement. All nine counts stem from an alleged crime spree on July 31, 2022. He has been held in the Douglas County Jail on a bond of $1.5 million since his arrest nearly four years ago on Kansas Highway 10 following a police chase.

After jury instructions and closing arguments are given Friday, the case will be in the jurors’ hands.