The trial involving a high-profile 1984 Columbia case has been delayed and likely won’t happen until 2025.
Boone County Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs on Friday approved a defense request to continue. The judge granted the continuance, without objection from Boone County prosecutors.
61-year-old James Frederick Wilson’s jury trial was originally scheduled to start this (Tuesday) morning at the Boone County Courthouse. He’s charged in Boone County with forcible rape and first degree assault for the 1984 abduction, rape and throat-slashing of a woman who was abducted while walking to work.
Wilson, who grew up in Columbia, has been jailed without bond since being captured in North Carolina in 2022.
Graphic court documents say the 1984 victim was allegedly walking near Wilkes and Providence and was driven to northeast Columbia’s Wellington drive, where she was raped twice. Court documents say Wilson then used his pocket knife to slash the victim’s throat, causing major damage to her trachea and vocal cords.
We learned in open court earlier this month that that woman, who now lives in another state, will testify at Wilson’s trial. Wilson’s next court hearing is set for December 9, which means the trial is unlikely to happen before the end of the year.
