Murder charge filed in stabbing death

Here's a roundup of happenings in criminal cases in the 4th Judicial District, which includes El Paso and Teller counties:

• Family members of 23-year-old Nicholas Murphy on Friday got to see the man accused of stabbing him to death as prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge against Clifford Huery, 31. Murphy was stabbed after coming to the aid of his girlfriend Aug. 20 at 720 Swope Ave. Huery, who is being held without bond, is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 22 for a preliminary hearing , where prosecutors will present their evidence to 4th Judicial District Judge Thomas Kane.

• Troy Hauck, 33, of Peyton pleaded not guilty Friday to vehicular homicide charges in the June 6 death of Christine McCord, 54. Colorado Springs police allege Hauck had been drinking alcohol before the crash on U.S. Highway 24 east of Constitution Ave. McCord was in a car that had stopped to help family members pick up a mattress that had fallen out of a truck on the highway. Hauck remains free on $10,000 bail until his trial, scheduled for Jan. 5.

• Fourth Judicial District Judge David Shakes on Thursday set a new trial date for Salvator Esquivel-Castillo, who is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2007 homicide of Jaclyn Funderburg, 22, of Colorado Springs. The trial, the third one in the case after the first two ended in mistrials, is now scheduled for April 6. Colorado Springs police allege the suspect kidnapped Funderburg, killed her, then dumped her body over a cliff southeast of Marksheffel Road and Space Village Avenue. Esquivel-Castillo, 36, remains in custody without bond at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.