One of Three Murder Suspects Pleads Not Guilty Wednesday

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[One of three teenagers accused in the death of a Perry County girl has pleaded not guilty, and a second defense attorney has been assigned to his case.

Carl Dane, age 18, entered the pleas Wednesday in Perry County to first-degree murder and other charges during the 11:20 a.m. hearing before Judge James Campanella.

Dane is charged along with 17-year-old James Glazier and 15-year-old Robbie Mueller in the July killing of 15-year-old Sidnee Stephens of Pinckneyville.

Stephens had been missing from her home for nearly a week before her body was found in a creek near Pinckneyville.

Authorities say she had been shot and strangled.

A pretrial hearing was set for Jan. 7 for Dane.

According to Perry County State's Attorney David Stanton, Dane qualifies for a second defense attorney under Illinois' Capital Litigation Reform Act. The services of defense attorney Ethan Skaggs will be paid through the Illinois Capital Litigation Trust Fund.

The arraignment starts a 120-day clock that includes the assemblage of state's attorney's death penalty case review team which will decide whether Stanton's office will seek the death penalty against Dane.

Dane's legal team has a handful of options in countering such a request.One criteria to escape the death penalty is if it can be proven that the defendant has an IQ (Intelligence Quotient) of less than 60, according to Stanton.

Dane's attorney waived the formal reading of the charges and evidence discovery.

Stanton said all key parties to the case are being given 13 disks of discovery information.

Trial had originally been set for November, which would put the trial within the 120-day speedy trial rule, but Dane's attorney has already asked for a continuance until January.

About 20 family members and friends of the late teen Sidnee Stephens were present for the brief hearing before Judge James Campanella. He will preside over the cases of Dane and defendant Glazier.

Judge Brian Babka will preside over the case against defendant Mueller.