COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed for a woman charged with the shooting deaths of two men and the attempted murders of two law officers in western Iowa.
The Daily Nonpareil reported that the trial of April Montello-Roberts, 44, had been scheduled to begin earlier this week. The new starting date is May 5.
The Shenandoah resident has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder of an officer, one count of burglary and one of robbery.
Montello-Roberts helped her boyfriend, 28-year-old Troy Petersen, of Essex, in the robbery and killing of 52-year-old Jerrot Clark last August, prosecutors have said. Days later, the pair escaped after a Council Bluffs officer tried to pull over their pickup truck.
They then randomly approached 51-year-old Steven Carlson’s home with a plan to take a hostage to use as leverage to escape police. Petersen instead shot and killed Carlson, authorities said.
The pair later crashed while fleeing from officers who reported being shot at. Petersen was shot dead in the wrecked truck by an officer who said he saw Petersen hold a handgun to Montello-Roberts’ head.
