AKRON, Ohio, March 26 (UPI) -- A judge in Ohio Tuesday postponed sentencing for Craigslist killer Richard Beasley, who faces the death penalty for killing three men and wounding a fourth.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Lynne S. Callahan didn't reveal why she was putting off the announcement of Beasley's punishment until April 4, The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal reported.
However, defense attorney Lawrence Whitney said outside the court that co-counsel Jim Burdon was "indisposed" and unavailable Tuesday. The newspaper noted state law requires two defense attorneys to be on hand in death penalty cases.
Callahan was to deliver her decision on Beasley's sentence after hearing from victims' relatives. The judge can chose between the death penalty and life in prison, with or without the chance for parole.
Beasley, 53, of Akron and co-defendant Brogan Rafferty of Stow, Ohio, were convicted of killing Ralph Geiger, David Pauley and Tim Kern, and trying to kill Scott Davis in 2011.
Rafferty was sentenced earlier to life in prison with no chance of parole.
The victims had answered a bogus job offer Beasley posted on Craigslist.
