DARLINGTON - An Argyle teen charged with his brother in a house fire that killed three young boys is scheduled to go to trial the week he turns 19.
Jeremy Wand appeared Wednesday in Lafayette County Circuit Court for the first time since early December, when he pleaded not guilty to the six homicide charges and one arson charge against him in the fatal fire that killed his nephews.
During the brief hearing Wednesday, the judge set Wand's trial to begin Saturday, July 13.
His brother, Armin Wand III, 33, was ready to go to trial this Saturday but instead pleaded guilty last week in a last-minute hearing to eight felonies, including one count each for his three sons who died in the Sept. 7 fire. His sentencing is April 17.
As part of his plea agreement, he'll have to testify at his younger brother's trial.
Judge Thomas Vale had granted Armin Wand's request for a jury from outside the area, and, until the trial was canceled, a jury from Marathon County was to be selected Friday in Wausau.
Vale granted the same request in Jeremy Wand's case, citing the intense interest and publicity the cases are generating in the area.
"The same analysis would apply to this case. There is a big concern that we're unable to find a jury (here) that would be completely unbiased," Vale said. "We will be selecting a jury from another county."
State investigators say Armin Wand intended for his pregnant wife and four children to die in the fire in the rental home they shared on Oak Street in Argyle. He told agents he wanted to collect on their renter's and life insurance and get a "fresh start."
Jeremy Wand allegedly agreed to help his older brother in the arson plot for a $300 cut of the insurance money.
Three of the children died in the fire, Allen, 7, Jeffery, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo," 3. Their mother Sharon escaped, badly burned, with 2-year-old Jessica. Sharon Wand was pregnant at the time of the fire and later lost the fetus; she has since filed for a divorce from her husband.
The brothers confessed the crime to investigators in the days after the fire, according to the criminal complaint. The state investigation presents one conflicting detail in their accounts of the fire. Jeremy Wand claimed he did not want to leave the burning house without taking the children but his brother pulled on his arm and forced him outside. Armin Wand told investigators Jeremy ran out the back door when he saw Sharon on fire.
Armin Wand's attorneys successfully argued that some of his interviews with state agents were coerced and conducted before he was read his rights.
Frank Medina, public defender for Jeremy Wand, said he also plans to ask the judge to suppress as evidence some of his client's statements from interviews in the days after the fire. He questions whether Wand, a senior at Argyle High School, truly understood what was happening.
"You're dealing with a kid here, a high school student," Medina said. "We can't forget, he's a kid."
Wand's next hearing is May 10.
Jeremy Wand appeared Wednesday in Lafayette County Circuit Court for the first time since early December, when he pleaded not guilty to the six homicide charges and one arson charge against him in the fatal fire that killed his nephews.
During the brief hearing Wednesday, the judge set Wand's trial to begin Saturday, July 13.
His brother, Armin Wand III, 33, was ready to go to trial this Saturday but instead pleaded guilty last week in a last-minute hearing to eight felonies, including one count each for his three sons who died in the Sept. 7 fire. His sentencing is April 17.
As part of his plea agreement, he'll have to testify at his younger brother's trial.
Judge Thomas Vale had granted Armin Wand's request for a jury from outside the area, and, until the trial was canceled, a jury from Marathon County was to be selected Friday in Wausau.
Vale granted the same request in Jeremy Wand's case, citing the intense interest and publicity the cases are generating in the area.
"The same analysis would apply to this case. There is a big concern that we're unable to find a jury (here) that would be completely unbiased," Vale said. "We will be selecting a jury from another county."
State investigators say Armin Wand intended for his pregnant wife and four children to die in the fire in the rental home they shared on Oak Street in Argyle. He told agents he wanted to collect on their renter's and life insurance and get a "fresh start."
Jeremy Wand allegedly agreed to help his older brother in the arson plot for a $300 cut of the insurance money.
Three of the children died in the fire, Allen, 7, Jeffery, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo," 3. Their mother Sharon escaped, badly burned, with 2-year-old Jessica. Sharon Wand was pregnant at the time of the fire and later lost the fetus; she has since filed for a divorce from her husband.
The brothers confessed the crime to investigators in the days after the fire, according to the criminal complaint. The state investigation presents one conflicting detail in their accounts of the fire. Jeremy Wand claimed he did not want to leave the burning house without taking the children but his brother pulled on his arm and forced him outside. Armin Wand told investigators Jeremy ran out the back door when he saw Sharon on fire.
Armin Wand's attorneys successfully argued that some of his interviews with state agents were coerced and conducted before he was read his rights.
Frank Medina, public defender for Jeremy Wand, said he also plans to ask the judge to suppress as evidence some of his client's statements from interviews in the days after the fire. He questions whether Wand, a senior at Argyle High School, truly understood what was happening.
"You're dealing with a kid here, a high school student," Medina said. "We can't forget, he's a kid."
Wand's next hearing is May 10.