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BAY ST. LOUIS — A Circuit judge has decided Leo Laurent Jr. can’t receive a fair and impartial trial in Hancock County in his wife’s murder.
Judge Roger Clark has ordered the trial moved to Forrest County.
The trial is set to begin Jan. 25.
Laurent, 32, is accused in the slaying of 29-year-old Brandi Hawkins Laurent, who went missing Aug. 3, 2007.
Her remains were found three months later about a mile from the couple’s FEMA trailer near the Kiln community.
Her death was ruled homicide by suffocation.
Defense attorney Brian Alexander asked for the trial to be moved. He cited extensive pretrial publicity, much of it brought on by Laurent.
Laurent solicited media interviews after his wife’s disappearance, claiming she had been abducted by drug dealers to whom she owed money.
The judge heard arguments in a change-of-venue hearing Oct. 20. He also heard testimony from a randomly selected jury and examined the evidence. His order, filed Nov. 5, states the court found “good cause” and a “satisfactory showing” that Laurent can’t get a fair trial in his home county.
Laurent is a former youth soccer coach in Bay St. Louis and the former manager of a CVS Pharmacy in Pearl River County.
While awaiting trial, he’s serving time for conviction of embezzling about $2,000 from CVS. State prison records show he’s due for release Dec. 31, 2012.
Brandi Laurent’s remains were found by a search party organized by Texas Equusearch.
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