Monday hearing for man accused of killing Hermann officer canceled

HERMANN, Mo. (KMIZ)

The hearing for the man accused of killing a Hermann officer and critically injuring another officer originally scheduled for Monday was pushed back indefinitely until a new judge can be found.

Kenneth Simpson made his first court appearance on Wednesday, March 15. Since then, several changes have been made to who will be the judge and prosecutor in this case. Due to these changes, the hearing scheduled for Monday morning was canceled until a new judge is assigned to the case.

Simpson, who has a criminal record dating back to 2004, is charged with 5 felonies, including first-degree murder, for fatally shooting Hermann Police Officer Mason Griffith and critically injuring Officer Adam Sullentrup at Casey's on Sunday, March 12.

At Wednesday's arraignment hearing, Simpson pleaded not guilty to these charges. Since then the original judge excused herself from the case, and a motion to appoint a special prosecutor was filed.

Both the original judge and prosecutor for this case worked closely with Griffith and felt it would be a conflict of interest to work on the case.

On Friday, the motion to appoint a special prosecutor was approved and the Missouri Attorney General's Office is now the Special Prosecutor for the case. Simpson's attorney filed for a second change of judge which was approved and sent to the presiding judge for reassignment.