The murder trial for McComb attorney Robert Lenoir will be heard in Natchez sometime next year, a judge ruled during a hearing Tuesday in Pike County Circuit Court.
Lenoir, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in the March 30, 2021, death of Wendy Dansby, 55, of Madison County.
She was found dead in Lenoir’s home on Hope Drive. He is also charged with possession of a controlled substance, evidence tampering, child endangerment, felony child abuse and witness tampering.
Circuit Judge Forrest “Al” Johnson scheduled a status conference in for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 21 in Pike County to set a trial date. He mentioned the possibility of scheduling the trial for Aug. 7, 2023.
Johnson also said that Lenoir is barred from having contact with his child, but the matter could be revisited during the Dec. 21 hearing.
He said Lenoir would be allowed to continue living out of state in Covington, La.
Defense attorney Tom Fortner said Lenoir is in a therapeutic treatment program and does not plan to leave Covington anytime soon. Attorney Ronnie Whittington of McComb also represented Lenoir.
Johnson, a former 6th District Circuit Court judge from Natchez, explained his decision to move the trial there.
“The court is going to grant the motion for a change of venue,” he said. “Now, as far as where the case goes, that’s, of course, at the discretion of the court, but I’ve always talked with the lawyers about these matters.”
Johnson was appointed to the case after Pike County’s two circuit judges recused themselves, and the District Attorney’s office also stepped down from the case, handing the prosecution over to the DA’s office in Hattiesburg.
Johnson said he considered moving the trial to Hattiesburg, but opted against it with the media coverage on the case in that area.
Prosecuting Attorney Becky Denham disagreed with moving the trial to Natchez, noting Lenoir’s law firm has practiced law throughout Southwest Mississippi.
Denham said Lenoir’s mother, Dee Shandy, and brother, Tyler Shandy, both attorneys, have argued cases in Adams County.
“With the courts we were able to look at, they do have cases there and practice there,” Denham said. “If we know we have to change it, we would ask to change it to a fair and impartial jurisdiction that would be the same demographic makeup or similar in nature so he could have a trial by peers, but it wouldn’t be a county where his firm practices.”
Fortner agreed there would be conflicts with having the trial in Forrest County, but did not express an opinion about Adams County.
“I really don’t have any response to that one way or the other, judge,” he said. “I knew that Adams County was bounced around, the court thought about Adams County.”
Johnson said he was born and raised in Natchez, practiced law and was a circuit judge there for 24 years. He added he considered Denham’s concerns and acknowledged it was a part of Southwest Mississippi, but said after talking to the senior chancery judge in Natchez, he was convinced it was a good place to hold the trial.
“My belief is that nobody in Natchez knows too much who the defendant is. Even the lawyers don’t know who he is,” he said. “There’s a number of reasons for Adams County. That’s my home. I live there. I served as a circuit judge for 24 years. It will be a lot easier on the court as far as logistics.”
Johnson said the federal courthouse in Natchez could be used if extra space is needed.
Once the trial venue was set, discussion shifted to setting a date.
“I know there’s a bunch of discovery in the case, a large amount,” said Fortner, adding that data from smartphones has to come back from forensic analysis. “It’s hard for me to guess how long it’s going to take for us to get through this material.”
Denham also said blood has been sent to the crime lab that has to come back.
She suggested having the trial in July or August 2023.
“It’s a massive amount of data,” she said. “We’re working through that.”
