WEST POINT, Neb. (AP) - A fourth person has pleaded not guilty in the case of a northeastern Nebraska man whose body was found in his burned home.
The Sioux City Journal reports that 31-year-old Jenna Merrill, of Oakland, Nebraska, pleaded not guilty Thursday to being an accessory to a felony. Her trial is set for May 8.
Investigators say Merrill told police that another man charged in the case, Jody Olson, had been stabbed in a bar fight. Investigators say he was actually wounded in a fight with 64-year-old Ernest Warnock, whose body was found March 11 in rubble of his Rosalie home. He’d been fatally stabbed before the fire.
Olson and his son, Derek Olson, both of Oakland, have pleaded not guilty to murder, arson and related charges in Warnock’s death. Becky Weitzenkamp has pleaded not guilty to first-degree arson and being an accessory.
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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com
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