Philip Brewer and Christina Hardy, the defendants who pleaded not guilty in the homicide of Mercer Island resident Curtis Engeland in March of 2024, had their omnibus pre-trial hearings continued from June 12 to Aug. 7.

Their trial date will be set after the omnibus hearings are completed, according to Casey McNerthney, director of communications of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Prosecuting attorney Leesa Manion charged the defendants of 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, and his body was recovered on March 7 of that year in the Grays Harbor County city of Cosmopolis.

The pair’s previous trial date was set for July 24 on the court docket. McNerthney previously said that if further omnibus continuances occur, that would once again move the trial date. This has happened several times in these cases and is common in all types of cases.

According to a document supplied by McNerthney, “Continuances in pre-trial hearings can happen for several legitimate logistical reasons including the scheduling of witness interviews, witness availability at trial, the ongoing discovery process, processing test results from the State Patrol crime lab, court and attorney availability, or many other factors. Continuances can be requested by the defense or by prosecutors before a decision is made by a judge.”