The case management conference and dates for the jury trial of the Iowa City man accused of killing his wife, UI Health Care budget official JoEllen Browning have been reset to 2021. This is the third time the conference and trial have been moved.

According to court documents, the case management conference has been scheduled to Feb. 2, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. at the Johnson County Courthouse. The jury trial is scheduled for March 16, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin March 10 at the start of the pandemic, however, the defense requested a delay in the trial due to a previously granted motion to extend deadlines on pretrial motions, as previously reported in The Daily Iowan. The defense also wanted a trial delay due to “other conflicting professional obligations, the substantial amount of discovery yet to be reviewed, and the need to pursue additional defense investigation,” court documents read.

In February, the trial was reset to begin on Oct. 13. However, due to the pandemic, Browning had asked the court to reset the dates once more due to the rising case counts in Johnson County limiting opportunities to go over documents in a confidential setting with his legal counsel, as previously reported in the DI. 

JoEllen Browning was found dead in her home on April 5, 2019 and autopsy results showed she died of sharp-forced injuries. Roy Browning was arrested for first-degree murder on Oct. 28, 2019, and has pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial.