Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis, left, rubs his forehead during the Jessica Smith status hearing at the Clatsop County Courthouse Jan 22 in Astoria. Smith is charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder in the drowning death of her 2-year-old and cutting the throat of her teenage daughter in Cannon Beach.
Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis, left, rubs his forehead during the Jessica Smith status hearing at the Clatsop County Courthouse Jan 22 in Astoria. Smith is charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder in the drowning death of her 2-year-old and cutting the throat of her teenage daughter in Cannon Beach.
ASTORIA (AP) — The trial of a Washington state woman charged with drugging and killing her 2-year-old daughter at an Oregon coastal resort has been put off a year.
It has also been scheduled for the summer in the expectation of testimony from the surviving daughter, who at 13 is attending school for the first time since the incident.
The decision Thursday from Judge Cindee Matyas means Jessica Smith, 41, of Goldendale is scheduled to stand trial beginning June, 2016.
The trial, expected to last three weeks, had been scheduled to begin in July.
Smith has pleaded not guilty to an aggravated murder charge that could result in the death penalty, as well as to a charge of attempted aggravated murder charge for the slashing that nearly killed the 13-year-old.
Smith and her husband were divorcing and involved in a custody dispute over the children.
Smith's lawyers told the judge they couldn't prepare for a July trial because they have other aggravated murder trials in Multnomah and Clackamas counties this year. They said they could handle an April 2016 start.
Greg Smith, the father, said by telephone at the hearing that he'd prefer a trial soon. But if the trial were to be put off until the spring of 2016, it would be better to delay it further to make sure the girl doesn't miss classes, Smith said.
"I think it would be preferable to wait," he said.
Jessica Smith told the judge that the date, nearly two years from the time of her arrest, was acceptable. She is being held without bail.
One of her lawyers, William Falls, said he expects to file a motion about mental health issues, a possible defense.
The 2-year-old was found dead Aug. 1.
She had been heavily sedated with an over-the-counter antihistamine, according to the state medical examiner. Asphyxiation by drowning was the main cause of death, and the drug was listed as a contributing cause.
District Attorney Josh Marquis hasn't yet said whether he would seek the death penalty.
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