Cold Case Hearing to be Rescheduled

By N3 News
The preliminary hearing to determine if Roy Snell Jr. will be tried for the murder of Richard Atwood will be adjourned to a date yet to be scheduled in order to better accomodate witnesses, some of whom are appearing remotely.

Atwood, 25 years old at the time, went missing nearly 37 years ago. His brown 1975 Pontiac Trans-Am was recovered in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area two months later and  Snell was reported as the last person to be seen with Atwood.
His body has never been found.

The COVID-19 pandemic creates a series of unique problems for the courts in such matters and court officials are continuing to be innovative as they maneuver through the changes the virus has brought to the courtroom.The public hearing was streamed on Youtube during the first 3 days of the hearing with only court personnel, attorneys and Snell in attendance and witnesses not testifying remotely being  brought in from a sequestered room in the courthouse.

Thursday's proceedings were cut short after Snell persisted that he was feeling ill and eventually drew admonitions from Judge Melissa Dykman for continuing to interrupt her responses. This led to his return to a holding cell and adjournment for the day.

Near North Now will strive to keep readers informed as to when the hearing is scheduled to resume. 

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