Murder trial rescheduled for Inverness man

Published 2:59 pm Friday, September 17, 2010

The trial of Ryan Gerald Russell, an Inverness man accused of killing an 11-year-old girl, has been rescheduled.

Russell’s court date was set for Sept. 20 and has now been continued to Nov. 8. Russell, 37, will stand trial before Circuit Court Judge Michael Joiner.

According to court documents, this is the fifth time the trial has been rescheduled.

Russell

Russell is charged with killing 11-year-old Katherine Helen Gillespie in June 2008.

According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, authorities found what appeared to be Gillespie’s body in a garbage can in the back of a Cadillac Escalade at the suspect’s house at 5048 Kerry Downs Road.

Sheriff’s deputies entered the residence and found Russell laying in the fetal position in his shower.

After performing an autopsy, authorities concluded Gillespie had been sexually abused and died of a .40-caliber gunshot wound to the head.

Russell is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail without bond on capital murder charges.