OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man charged in a nearly 20-year-old Omaha homicide will stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the cold case.
A judge on Monday ordered Christopher Martin, 51, of Omaha, to stand trial for the Dec. 5, 2000, shooting death of his then-neighbor, Todd Schumacher, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Schumacher was found shot to death outside his home, which had been burglarized, but investigators had been unable to pinpoint a suspect at the time. Police said Martin and Schumacher had a running dispute over Martin parking his car in front of Schumacher’s home, and Martin once accused Schumacher of breaking out his car’s windows and slashing its tires.
Police reopened the murder case last year at the request of Schumacher’s daughter and charged Martin after investigators said advances in DNA testing singled out Martin as the shooter. Prosecutors argue that DNA found on shell casings at the shooting scene is Martin’s. Public Defender Tom Riley questioned the validity and reliability of the DNA testing, because the results were found using a new technique.
Martin is being held on $850,000 bail.
