BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio judge has delayed the trial of a woman accused of suffocating her three young sons out of jealousy at the attention her husband gave them.
The trial for 24-year-old Brittany Pilkington, of Bellefontaine, was scheduled to begin March 10. Pilkington’s attorneys said they needed more time to prepare and asked a judge in Logan County court to push back the trial.
The judge granted the extension on Wednesday and ordered all motions to be filed by March 17, ahead of the next hearing March 20. A new date hasn’t been scheduled for the trial, which is expected to last weeks.
Pilkington has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder charges. Authorities allege she killed her toddler son and two infants over a 13-month period in 2014 and 2015.
Prosecutors have said Pilkington confessed to all three murders in a recorded police interview in which she says she smothered each boy with a blanket because she didn’t want to see them suffering.
Pilkington’s attorneys have tried unsuccessfully to get the video thrown out and to have a judge to dismiss the parts of the charges against her that could lead to a potential death penalty if she is convicted.
A visiting judge is expected to continue overseeing the case because the elected county judge, William Goslee, was previously involved in the matter as the county prosecutor when Pilkington was first charged.
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