Out-of-county jurors may be selected for April Tinsley case

April Tinsley (left), John D. Miller (right)

Jurors from outside of Allen County will likely hear the case of the man accused of the 1988 murder of April Tinsley.

John Miller, 59, was arrested back in July, a little more than three decades after the body of 8-year-old Tinsley was found in a ditch in DeKalb County.

Earlier this month, Miller filed a motion in Allen Superior Court asking for a change of venue.

The Journal Gazette reports Miller’s lawyers argued in court documents he can’t receive a fair trial in Allen County. A request to move the trial cites “public hostility against him,” “public outrage” over the alleged crime and “speculative opinions as to his guilt and character.”

Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck will consider the request in a hearing scheduled for December 7, but said Monday he would “probably” order jurors to be selected from a different county.

Miller’s trial is set to start on February 11, 2019.