Judge Howard Simms says he may delay the trial of accused murderer Stephen McDaniel again due to FBI delays in providing evidence.
The FBI is still analyzing evidence in the two-and-a-half year-old murder case.
Simms is presiding at a motions hearing in the case today in Bibb County Superior Court. The trial is currently scheduled to begin Feb. 3.
Simms says he may consider delaying the trial since evidence is still coming from the FBI. He said he planned to call the FBI to ask for an explanation.
McDaniel is accused of killing Lauren Giddings, his Mercer Law School classmate, in June 2011.
About 10 FBI specialists still haven't turned in reports on evidence, defense lawyer Frank Hogue said in the hearing Monday.
Simms said he would not rule yet on a defense motion to exclude hairs found in a refrigerator in their apartment complex. He said an FBI report is due in a week or two.
Earlier on Monday, Simms rejected a defense motion to exclude information found on McDaniel's computer, ruling that the search warrant for the computer was proper.
After that ruling, defense lawyers said they may ask for a three-month delay, saying they needed the time to analyze the data on the computer.
Simms also said prosecutors could not use McDaniel's statements to investigators that he was a virgin. Simms said the information isn't relevant to prosecutors' arguments.
