DARLINGTON - A jury trial is set for February for the Argyle father accused of setting a Sept. 7 house fire that killed three of his children and critically injured his pregnant wife.
Armin Wand III, 33, stood mute on the eight felony charges against him during an arraignment hearing Wednesday afternoon in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
The court entered pleas of not guilty on his behalf. A weeklong trial is scheduled Feb. 25 to March 1.
His younger brother and alleged accomplice, Jeremy Wand, 18, pleaded not guilty. No trial is yet scheduled in his case.
The Wands are still being held on bonds of more than $1 million each. They appeared in court as they have at past hearings - shackled, in orange scrubs and wearing beige jail-issued sandals. Armin Wand III has noticeably grayed in the past three months. His younger brother, a senior at Argyle High School, is beginning to grow facial hair.
Authorities say the Wands conspired in an arson plot to kill the older brother's wife and four children and collect on their life insurance. Three of the children died in the fire - Allen Wand, 7, Jeffery Wand, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo" Wand, 3. Their mother, Sharon Wand, 27, was four months pregnant at the time of the fire. She survived but later lost the baby she was carrying. The Wands' fourth child, 2-year-old Jessica, also survived.
The Green County judge assigned to the case, Thomas Vale, granted a motion by Armin Wand III's defense attorney Guy Taylor to sever the cases so they can be tried separately.
Lawyers for the Wands are also seeking to move the trial out of the Madison media market due to what Taylor describes as intense media scrutiny and public sentiment.
Vale gave prosecutors seven days to respond to the motion to move the case. If he grants the motion, he said, the case would either move to another county or a jury from another county would come to Darlington.
"There's a possibility a jury could be brought to Lafayette County," he said. But, he added, the cases "will not be heard in Green County."
Taylor explained to reporters after the hearing there is little distinction between standing mute and pleading not guilty. He chose for his client to stand mute "because I'm an old guy and that's an old way to protect" the defendant. "It's just my preferred method."
Prosecutors have until Jan. 17 to file jury instructions. Jeremy Wand's next court date is Feb. 20.
Four members of the public turned out to hearing, including Sharon Wand's aunt, Lessa Bobak. She held her head, hand over her eyes, as the Wands' lawyers entered their pleas.
After the hearing, Bobak said her niece continues to make a remarkable recovery. Since the fire, she has been getting intensive skin-grafting treatment in the burn unit at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison and slowly relearning how to walk.
"I saw Sharon on Sunday and she actually walked to the waiting room," Bobak said, adding that doctors expect her to be able to move to a rehabilitation unit within the next couple of weeks.
Armin Wand III, 33, stood mute on the eight felony charges against him during an arraignment hearing Wednesday afternoon in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
The court entered pleas of not guilty on his behalf. A weeklong trial is scheduled Feb. 25 to March 1.
His younger brother and alleged accomplice, Jeremy Wand, 18, pleaded not guilty. No trial is yet scheduled in his case.
The Wands are still being held on bonds of more than $1 million each. They appeared in court as they have at past hearings - shackled, in orange scrubs and wearing beige jail-issued sandals. Armin Wand III has noticeably grayed in the past three months. His younger brother, a senior at Argyle High School, is beginning to grow facial hair.
Authorities say the Wands conspired in an arson plot to kill the older brother's wife and four children and collect on their life insurance. Three of the children died in the fire - Allen Wand, 7, Jeffery Wand, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo" Wand, 3. Their mother, Sharon Wand, 27, was four months pregnant at the time of the fire. She survived but later lost the baby she was carrying. The Wands' fourth child, 2-year-old Jessica, also survived.
The Green County judge assigned to the case, Thomas Vale, granted a motion by Armin Wand III's defense attorney Guy Taylor to sever the cases so they can be tried separately.
Lawyers for the Wands are also seeking to move the trial out of the Madison media market due to what Taylor describes as intense media scrutiny and public sentiment.
Vale gave prosecutors seven days to respond to the motion to move the case. If he grants the motion, he said, the case would either move to another county or a jury from another county would come to Darlington.
"There's a possibility a jury could be brought to Lafayette County," he said. But, he added, the cases "will not be heard in Green County."
Taylor explained to reporters after the hearing there is little distinction between standing mute and pleading not guilty. He chose for his client to stand mute "because I'm an old guy and that's an old way to protect" the defendant. "It's just my preferred method."
Prosecutors have until Jan. 17 to file jury instructions. Jeremy Wand's next court date is Feb. 20.
Four members of the public turned out to hearing, including Sharon Wand's aunt, Lessa Bobak. She held her head, hand over her eyes, as the Wands' lawyers entered their pleas.
After the hearing, Bobak said her niece continues to make a remarkable recovery. Since the fire, she has been getting intensive skin-grafting treatment in the burn unit at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison and slowly relearning how to walk.
"I saw Sharon on Sunday and she actually walked to the waiting room," Bobak said, adding that doctors expect her to be able to move to a rehabilitation unit within the next couple of weeks.