NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A March trial has been scheduled for a man accused of killing an acquaintance in central Iowa’s Jasper County.
Court records say the new starting date is March 7 for 52-year-old Randy Linderman, of Charles City. He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the slaying of 61-year-old Jose Ramirez Berber. A family member found Berber’s body inside his rural Newton home on March 6 last year. Linderman’s first trial date was Oct. 18.

The Newton Daily News reports that DNA evidence taken from Berber’s body and clothing matched that of Linderman. Investigators say Linderman acknowledged that he’d been to Berber’s home several times.