PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man accused of trying to murder his stepuncle with insulin is expected to get a new trial date Friday.
Robbie Wayne Davis, 39, is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree aggravated murder, three counts of first-degree assault-administers a destructive or noxious substance and two counts of felony harassment-threats to kill.
He is accused of trying to kill Richard Haynes, a non-diabetic, with insulin in December 2013, March 2014 and June 2014.
Haynes, 57, who had Down syndrome, died of complications of pneumonia last October.
Davis’ trial now is scheduled for June 15.
He remained Saturday in the Clallam County jail on $50,000 bail.
Delays in results from DNA and handwriting tests at a State Patrol crime lab have postponed Davis’ scheduled trial several times since his June 2014 arrest.
“I certainly wouldn’t anticipate going to trial in 30 days,” John Hayden, Davis’ attorney, told Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer on Friday.
“We don’t have a new date yet, so we’ll probably want to come back, maybe next week, next Friday, so that we can set a viable date.”
Rohrer scheduled the next court hearing for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
An Olympic Medical Center nurse found Haynes with dangerously low blood sugar after being visited by Davis in the hospital June 15, 2014.
Charges were added in April that Davis attempted to kill Haynes with insulin in December 2013 and March 2014.
The harassment charges were based on letters that Davis allegedly wrote in the county jail that threatened a deputy prosecuting attorney and a caseworker.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly last month signed an order for consumptive DNA testing at a State Patrol crime lab.
Hayden said he found a defense expert to witness DNA tests on syringes that were taken out of the hospital room where Davis allegedly injected Haynes with insulin.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said the state is trying to determine the availability of its own experts to witness the DNA tests.
“The concern I have is I know the defense has not found their handwriting expert,” Devlin told Rohrer.
“That’s something that’s going to throw another kink in this, so we just would like to try and do it so we’re not setting this 15 more times.”
Hayden told Rohrer that progress is being made on the handwriting expert.
“We’re working on our case,” Hayden said.
