Murder trial delayed until January

The murder trial of Karen Bodden, accused of killing her husband in August 2006 and dumping his body in the desert, has been continued until Jan. 7.

Jury selection was set to begin Nov. 29.

District Judge Dave Gamble said Friday he granted the continuance after defense attorney James E. Wilson Jr. requested the delay because of a family matter.

Bodden, 44, has been in Douglas County Jail on $1 million cash bail since her arrest Sept. 11, 2006.

She was indicted by the Douglas County Grand Jury one year later on a charge of open murder with use of a deadly weapon to which she pleaded not guilty in October.

Authorities allege she shot 50-year-old Robin Bodden to death in August 2006 because he discovered she was embezzling money from his personal and business accounts and threatened to turn her over to officials.

Karen Bodden was on probation after she pleaded guilty in 2004 to embezzling $44,000 from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

Robin Bodden was an aircraft mechanic and owner of General Aviation Services of Nevada at the Minden-Tahoe Airport.

Following the murder, authorities believe Karen Bodden had 10 days before a family member reported her husband missing to clean up the crime scene and set up her story that she didn't report his absence because the Boddens were having marital problems and he left her.

What investigators discovered, according to court documents, was that Bodden had allegedly embezzled thousands of dollars.

Authorities believe Robin Bodden was shot to death at his airport hangar and the murderer used the mechanic's own tools and supplies to carry out the crime.

His badly decomposed body was discovered in the desert near Johnson Lane on Sept. 10, three weeks after officials believe he was killed.

Gamble said Wednesday he would rule on several motions to suppress evidence filed by Wilson on Karen Bodden's behalf as issues arise at her trial.

He said he would see how jury selection proceeds before ruling on Wilson's change of venue request because of pre-trial publicity.

"I am going to try to pick a jury," Gamble said. "I'll deny your motion when we pick a jury or grant it if we can't."

Both attorneys have said they believe the trial will last three weeks.

Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said he had 60 witnesses on his list, but didn't know if he would call them all.