Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The capital murder trial of a Topeka man charged with kidnapping, raping and killing an 8-year-old girl has been postponed for several months.

Billy Frank Davis Jr. is accused of kidnapping Ahliyah Irvin on March 13 while she slept in her Topeka apartment, where Davis was a neighbor. Her body was found within hours inside a clothes dryer in the same apartment complex.

The Topeka Capital Journal reports a Shawnee County judge on Monday granted a defense request to delay the trial from March 4 to Oct. 7. A motion to move the trial to another county was denied.

Davis could face the death penalty if he's convicted. Police say he told detectives that he kidnapped and choked the girl during a flashback to his military service in Iraq.