A Summersville girl charged in a conspiracy to murder her mother will stand trial in February 2009, according to court records.
Amelia Bird, 18, was to have stood trial beginning March 10. However, the case has been delayed by nearly a year after her defense asked for a continuance. She is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree assault. If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Authorities said Bird and her 21-year-old boyfriend, Chad R. Brantley, conspired to kill Bird’s parents in their home south of Summersville on Highway 17 in January 2006. Her mother, Christina Bird, was killed in the shooting, and her father, William “Buddy” Bird, was seriously wounded.
Brantley, court records show, is set for a jury trial in Phelps County. Jury selection will occur beginning Oct. 23 in Pulaski County. He is charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty. Bird, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was certified as an adult and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Bird was reportedly in her parent’s home the night of the shooting and made the 911 call for help. Authorities quickly discovered conflicting stories from Amelia Bird, who alleged that a man wearing a hooded coat and baseball cap shot her parents, and Brantley. They said the pair planned the shooting and that Brantley was standing at the sliding glass door of the home when Bird made the call for help. Both were arrested the following day.
Christina Bird died at the scene. Buddy Bird was taken to a Springfield hospital where he recovered.