The website, rccatalyst.com, posted an article on Friday highlighting excerpts from the motion for a change of venue made by Josh Farmer- attorney for the five defendants in the Matthew Fenner case. (source link here) The motion comes as no surprise. After being indicted twice in separate hearings, it would be a procedural oversight for Farmer not to at least attempt this move. District Attorney Ted Bell cited the “extreme volume” of the motion as a reason to decline comment until he could review it.
As a review, the five defendants are Brooke McFadden Covington, Sarah Covington Anderson, Adam Christopher Bartley, Justin Brock Covington and Robert Louis Walker, Jr. The list of charges includes second degree kidnapping and assault by strangulation. The motion will be heard on April 1, 2015 when the defendants make their first appearance before the judge. If a change is granted, this would be to an adjoining county-if previous procedures are followed.
Quoting from the article; Josh Farmer cited the need for the change due to ““excessive, pervasive and insidious publicity on a local, statewide and even national level” against the WOFF church.” The extensive documents also included a statement for each defendant that, “the defendant is a member of the Word of Faith Fellowship, a church that for nearly two decades has been subject to extraordinary persecution, hatred, bigotry and discrimination in the county, spurred by the Inside Edition tabloid news, local, national and international news media coverage, as well as continual social media postings.””
Included in the article are some vital links to historical information about the group including a link to the Inside Edition video. Good job by the staff reporter who put this together. It was concise, but inclusive of needed information for one who may be new to the ongoing WOFF drama.
Continue reading Change of Venue Request Reported by rccatalyst.com
