Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-Beason murder suspect appears in court Monday
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Jason Harris is accused of brutally murdering a family in Beason. Monday, Harris' lawyer asked the judge to make sure prosecutors preserve any and all physical evidence in this case if DNA or other lab testing is necessary.
Attorney Steve Skelton says he has not seen any of the evidence against his client yet, but says the record of total collected evidence adds up to more than 6 thousand pages. 22-year-old Jason Harris faces multiple charges including First Degree Murder, attempted sexual assault, and aggravated battery of a child.
Last month a Logan County grand jury indicted Jason and his older brother, 30-year-old Chris Harris, on more than 60 criminal counts each. The brothers are accused of killing Rick Gee, his wife and three children. The Gee's 3-year-old daughter was the only survivor of the attack. Prosecutors say the two broke into the Gee's home here in Beason September 21st, beating the family to death with a tire iron and stealing a laptop computer.
At Monday’s hearing, Jason Harris' lawyer also requested his jury trial be pushed back from December to February, but Harris' lawyer says it's highly unlikely that this high-profile case with this much evidence to process will go to trial before 2011.
Last week the court appointed an unidentified investigator to assist in Harris' defense. Jason Harris will make his next court appearance December 3rd.
