Hearing delayed for Fort Carson soldier accused of rape, murder

UPDATE: HOMICIDE OF SPRINGS WOMAN

The case: The body of a 19-year-old Colorado Springs woman was found in the woods off Old Stage Road, west of Colorado Springs, Oct. 13. The woman's throat was slashed and she had been raped, according to El Paso County Sheriff's investigators.

The victim: Judilianna "Judi" Lawrence allegedly met her attacker on an internet Web site.

The suspect: Spc. Robert Marko, 21, is an Iraq War veteran and was assigned to Fort Carson. Marko told an El Paso County sheriff's investigator he had sex with the victim before he slashed her throat and left her to die about three miles up Old Stage Road, according to an arrest affidavit. In addition to the rape and first-degree murder charges, Marko has also been charged with sexual assault on a child for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl just days before the Lawrence homicide.

What's new: On Monday, Marko's attorney Deputy Public Defender Sheilagh McAteer objected to prosecutors being allowed to take hair samples from Marko. Prosecutors want the samples tested by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday, when prosecutors were to present their evidence to 4th Judicial District Judge Larry Schwartz, was delayed until Schwartz could rule on the issue.

What's next: Marko is due back in court Dec. 30, when Schwartz could rule on the hair sample issue and set a new date for the preliminary hearing. He is being held without bond at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.