Trial delayed for second person charged in murder

By JIM TALBERT\Staff
TAZEWELL – It will be spring before the second defendant in the murder of a Tazewell man stands trial.
A change in co-counsel last week resulted in trial for William Patrick Green being moved from Sept. 17 to March 31 of 2008. Green and Chrystle Patrick are charged with the murder of Mark Anthony Witten of Tazewell.
Patrick entered a guilty plea July 23 and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 29. Green’s trial was rescheduled after Shannon Cooke, serving as co-counsel with Penny Nimmo discovered he had a conflict.
Judge Teresa Chaffin allowed Cooke to withdraw from the case and appointed Jim Short to replace him. The court also granted Nimmo’s motion for a continuance to allow Short to become familiar with the case.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Lee said the spring date was the earliest that could accommodate all of the parties involved. Green has been held in the Southwest Regional Jail in Tazewell since his arrest in July of 2006.
Witten’s body was discovered in the Tannersville area of the county at Easter in 2005. Investigators worked the case for 16 months before Patrick and Green were arrested.