AURORA, Colo.—An Aurora motel security guard charged with slitting a resident’s throat is scheduled to go on trial on a murder charge next month.
Prosecutors say 44-year-old James W. Merritt killed 55-year-old Shirley Rose Welch at the King’s Inn Motel in January 2008.
Police say they found a samurai-style knife in Merritt’s storage unit with his and Welch’s DNA on it. They say Merritt’s DNA was found under Welch’s fingernails and in her motel room, where she was killed.
Police say Merritt and Welch had a sexual relationship, which Merrit denies. Both lived at the motel and Welch worked at a Wal-Mart.
Merritt’s attorneys say others had access to Welch’s room and other people should be considered suspects.
The trial is scheduled to start June 8.
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Information from: The Aurora Sentinel,
