Trial set for October for man accused of killing his wife, UI Health Care budget official JoEllen Browning

The trial for Roy Browning was previously scheduled to begin March 10. The defense asked for a delay due to an extension of pretrial motion deadlines.

Photo of Roy C. Browning contributed by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Kayli Reese, Managing Editor


The trial for Roy Browning — the man accused of killing his wife, UI Health Care budget official JoEllen Browning — has been reset to begin on Oct. 13.

A case management conference has also been reset to start at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 18. Both the conference and the trial will take place at the Johnson County Courthouse.

A trial scheduling conference via telephone took place Wednesday morning to reset the dates. The case management conference was previously scheduled to begin Feb. 14, and the trial was going to begin March 10.

According to court documents, the defense asked for a trial delay due to a previously granted motion to extend pretrial motion deadlines. The defense also wanted a delay because of “other conflicting professional obligations, the substantial amount of discovery yet to be reviewed, and the need to pursue additional defense investigation,” court documents filed Feb. 10 read.

The state did not resist the defense’s motion for a trial delay.

JoEllen Browning was found dead in her home April 5, 2019, due to sharp-force injuries. Browning was arrested  over six months later on Oct. 28, 2019, and was charged with first-degree murder. He has since pleaded not guilty.