Trial continued for man who allegedly moved body of 38-year-old

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A Feb. 27 jury trial for a man charged with manslaughter was continued Monday after counsel asked the court for more time to prepare for trial.

Trevor Milstead is charged with involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

The 27-year-old appeared Monday in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas with his defense attorney, Susan Wollscheid.

As the case proceeds to trial, Wollscheid asked the court for a trial continuance to allow a medical expert at least 60 days to review autopsy and necessary medical information and prepare for trial. Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Beathard granted the motion to continue the trial and set the new trial date for the second week of May.

Otherwise discovery in the case is complete, according to Fayette County Prosecutor Jess Weade.

The May trial will mark two years since the date of the alleged manslaughter, May 27, 2016. It was then that Milstead allegedly called 911 at 4:30 a.m. and said that there was a 38-year-old man passed out on Eastview Road in Washington C.H.

Milstead allegedly said that he was just returning home to 1538 Washington Ave. when he saw the man across the street and passed out behind City Motel.

Washington Police Department Patrolman Jeff Heinz wrote in a report that Milstead, 27, provided “several different deceptive statements” to police about the alleged victim.

Heinz wrote that he observed “drag marks” through the grass in the dew, and that Milstead then allegedly changed his story and said he found the alleged victim’s body in the grass beside his house, and dragged him across the street.

According to Heinz’s report, Milstead said he moved the victim’s body across the street to “set him up on the curb” and that “the light was better to give CPR.”

The victim could not be revived and later died at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, reports said.

The coroner’s report and other information related to the case was sealed recently, according to the court. During Milstead’s arraignment hearing in December, Weade said the victim’s cause of death was due to a head injury from being dropped. Weade said the police responded to the 911 call of a man passed out behind City Motel as if it was an apparent drug overdose, but said that the coroner’s report stated the head injury was the cause of death.

Milstead is held in the Fayette County Jail on a $100,000 cash/surety or $1,000 own-recognizance bond. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 11 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and three years on the charge of tampering with evidence.

The court scheduled a hearing in the case for Monday, March 26, at 9 a.m., to discuss any pending or anticipated issues or motions before trial.

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By Ashley Bunton

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Contact Ashley at (740) 313-0355 or connect on Twitter by searching Twitter.com for @ashbunton and send a message.

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