Two men charged in Cassidy Rainwater’s killing to be back in court in February
The two men charged in the murder of Cassidy Rainwater will return to court in early February for preliminary hearings.
James D. Phelps and Timothy L. Norton were charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse. Phelps’ preliminary hearing will take place at 9 a.m. Feb. 4, a Dallas County Judge said Friday.
Phelps’ hearing was originally scheduled for Nov. 5, according to court records, but had been canceled.
Last month, a Dallas County judge scheduled Norton’s preliminary hearing for 9 a.m. Feb. 2.
Rainwater was reported missing on Aug. 25. Cora Terry said then that the last time Rainwater had been seen was about six weeks earlier and she believed that a “James Rainwater” was believed to be the last person to see the missing woman. Authorities later learned that she was talking about James Phelps.
When officers executed a search warrant at Phelps’ home in September, they discovered human remains which were later confirmed as Rainwater’s.
The southwest Missouri men were arrested in mid-September and charged with kidnapping and other offenses.
In October, Phelps’ home burned to the ground.
The kidnapping charges were upgraded to murder in November after authorities revealed gruesome details on how they believe Rainwater was killed and her body dismembered.
Rainwater has tied to the Kansas City area. In a 2003 yearbook from Harrisonville High School in Cass County, she’s listed as a freshman.
