A Chatham murder case has taken another step backwards.
Jeffrey Davis of Chatham is in the midst of changing lawyers and will now have another judicial pretrial.
Davis' co-accused, Shaquille Belle, who was charged in September, months after Davis, now has a lawyer, allowing both men to have judicial pre-trials on March 6.
They're charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 27-year-old Louise Thomson of Milton in Chatham last summer.
The cases are scheduled to return to court on March 16 to set trial dates.
Both cases were up in Chatham court on Monday, where Justice Brian Dube told both sides that "delay is a real issue" in this case.
Dube said the trials must be held before the end of the year to meet requirements for a timely trial and avoid delay issues.
Davis' trial was tentatively set for April 2026 and was to be confirmed last month, but he was seeking a change in lawyers.
Both men remain in custody.
The third co-accused, Sky-Linn Holden, has been before the court in Chatham for a plea several times, but her plea has been rescheduled repeatedly because plea discussions continue.
Holden remains in custody, charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a human body.
All cases have publication bans preventing further information from being made public.
