ASTORIA, Ore. — A Washington state woman accused of drowning her 2-year-old daughter and cutting the throat of her teenage daughter at an Oregon coast motel last summer is tentatively set for trial next July 7.
The Daily Astorian reported that Jessica Smith’s defense lawyers sought a trial date in spring or early summer 2016 during a hearing Tuesday in Circuit Court in Astoria, Oregon. Judge Cindee Matyas set the trial date for next July, but said she would allow defense lawyer Williams Falls a postponement if needed.
The 40-year-old Goldendale woman earlier pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder in the attacks.
Cannon Beach police found the toddler dead and the 13-year-old girl still breathing but covered in blood on Aug. 1. The teen has since recovered.
Smith and her husband, Greg Smith, were divorcing after 17 years amid a custody dispute.
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