Brewer and Hardy’s omnibus hearings continued to April

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026

More than two years after Mercer Island resident Curtis Engeland’s body was recovered in the Grays Harbor County city of Cosmopolis on March 7, 2024, the two defendants who pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and more still have not participated in their omnibus pre-trial hearings.

The eighth court-approved continuances for Christina Hardy and Philip Brewer occurred on March 3 and 4, respectively, in King County Superior Court in Seattle, according to Casey McNerthney, director of communications of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Their omnibus hearings are now scheduled for April 23 with their trial dates slated for June 6. Both defendants remain in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle. After they gave their pleas at their arraignments on April 16 and May 6 in 2024, they were held on $5 million bail each.

Prosecuting attorney Leesa Manion charged the defendants with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree identify theft and first-degree theft charges. Court documents state that Engeland, 74, was killed on or about Feb. 24, 2024.

According to court documents, Hardy’s defense listed her reason for an omnibus continuance as, “State provided preliminary witness list with 91 witnesses. Defense has asked to start interviews but state wishes to do interviews at the same time as co-defendant and defense has not heard back from either state or co-defendant regarding scheduling.”

Brewer’s defense listed that his cause for continuance, as noted in court documents, is: “Outstanding investigation and interviews. Tracking with (co-defendant’s) case. Defense awaiting completion of work by experts.”

McNerthney said it’s common for omnibus hearings in Washington state murder cases to last two years or more. He noted that some legitimate logistical reasons for continuances include the scheduling of witness interviews, witness availability at trial, the ongoing discovery process, processing test results from the state patrol crime lab and more.

“Continuances can be requested by the defense or by prosecutors before a decision is made by a judge. While prosecutors have the option to object, they must be mindful that if a defendant wants to continue the case so that their attorney can be better prepared, the state runs the risk of a conviction getting overturned on appeal for ineffective assistance of counsel,” he added.

A victim advocate from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has had conversations with the Engeland family’s point of contact about the case. No family statement has been issued about the case.

King County Superior Court presiding judge Averil Rothrock explained the court process, in part: “Between 5,000 and 6,000 criminal cases are filed each year in King County Superior Court. By monitoring the flow of cases into and through the court process and measuring the ‘time to resolution’ for cases, Superior Court ensures that everyone who brings a matter before the court gets timely access to justice and an opportunity for fair trial preparation.”