BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — A judge may soon decide whether to try a case against a Blountville, Tennessee, woman charged in the death of her child in Sullivan County or elsewhere.
On Thursday, Megan Boswell, 23, joined her attorney Gene Scott for a status hearing in Sullivan County Criminal Court.
The hearing lasted for less than 10 minutes before Judge James Goodwin, who set a new hearing in the case for June 20 at 1:30 p.m.
Goodwin informed Scott and Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus that he had also denied a motion to sever some of the charges and signed the document, which was filed in Sullivan County Criminal Court.
The defense had sought to separate some of the charges, including filing a false report, into a separate case.
Instead, the judge denied the motion, which means all of the charges will be heard at the same time. The charges against Boswell, who was accused of killing her infant Evelyn Boswell in 2020, include first-degree murder, 11 counts of false reporting, one charge of aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse.
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Scott said he is also seeking either a change of venue or a change of venire due to media coverage of the case, which began with a statewide Amber Alert in early 2020 when Evelyn Boswell was reported missing by her grandfather. The child’s body was eventually found on family property in Blountville on March 7, 2020.
Megan Boswell was originally arrested on Feb. 25, 2020, on charges of filing false reports, but was later indicted on murder charges.
“The only thing I’m concerned about is having a fair trial,” Scott told the court Thursday.
After the hearing, Scott told members of the media that he was concerned about the amount of coverage since the case began four years ago. He said reporters and cameras have been present for every hearing in the Boswell case.
Scott said his client is ready and wants to go to trial. Boswell has been unable to make bail since her original arrest, Scott said.
Scott said he has reviewed all of the discovery evidence in the case and is prepared for trial.
“We’re probably looking at a change of venire,” said Scott, who explained that a change of venire means a jury would be pooled from a different county and brought to hear the case in Sullivan County.
Staubus, however, said he believes a local fair jury can be gathered in Sullivan County. He said he has been working for some time to prepare for the motion.
Goodwin will consider the motion at the June hearing. He noted in court that if a change of venue is determined, then the case would be fully tried in another county and a new judge would have to be appointed.
Staubus said his goal is to take the case to trial in February 2025, when the trial is currently scheduled.