Twardoski trial 'good to go' for September
<span>CHESTER -- At a brief case management hearing on Wednesday at Randolph County Courthouse, both Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker and public defender James W. Kelley announced they are ready for trial in the case of People v. Derrick J. Twardoski.</span>
<span>Twardoski, 34, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection to the deaths of 5-year-old twins Brandan Owen and Landan Owen, 9-year-old Kailey Owen and 12-year-old Ethan Owen in a Percy house fire in May 2013. </span>
<span>He is accused of deliberately setting fire to the home of the Owen family and pled not guilty in his first appearance in court.</span>
<span>"I believe we've finally finished our witness list and subpoenas have been filed," Walker said in the courtroom.</span>
<span>Twardoski, sporting a short-cut haircut and goatee and wearing a gray-striped jumpsuit, also appeared before Judge Richard A. Brown, but did not speak.</span>
<span>Several members of the Owen family, wearing "Taken Too Young Owens Angels" T-shirts, were also in attendance.</span>
<span>The trial will begin Sept. 8 with jury selection at 9 a.m. The date was set at a case management hearing in April, during which Kelley asked for the retention of an additional expert.</span>
<span>"That was filed under seal until the case is over with and then Judge Brown, I'm sure, will release it," Walker said to the Herald Tribune in April.</span>
<span>Kelley said he could not comment on the type of expert that was retained.</span>
<span>In January, an agreement was reached in the case which allowed for an expert to be present to observe the DNA testing of eight exhibits.</span>
<span>According to media reports, those exhibits included swabs from a gas cap, gas can, rag, lighter and cigarette pack.</span>
<span>Walker, in previous comments to the Herald Tribune, said he expected the trial to take at least a week and the courthouse has blocked off the weeks of Sept. 8 and Sept. 15.</span>
<span>"A problem with jury selection could be pretrial publicity," Walker said. "Yes, a lot of people have heard about the case and we've tried to do everything we can to try and keep the specific facts of the case out of the newspapers.</span>
<span>"Just hearing about a case doesn't knock you out as a potential juror."</span>
<span>Parents Matthew and Natasha Owen, along with the children's cousin - Megan Inselmann - and sibling Noah Owen, survived the fire.</span>
<span>Randolph County Coroner Randy Dudenbostel has previously said autopsy reports show the children died as a result of smoke inhalation.</span>