Ruud and Peat appear in court


Robert Peat Jr. and Rebecca Ruud

A jury trial set for Jan. 28, 2019, in the murder case against Theodosia resident Rebecca Ruud has been rescheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 9, 2019, as the number one setting for that day. Ruud was charged with murdering her 16-year-old daughter Savannah Leckie and disposing of her body after the girl’s charred bone fragments were found in a burn pile on Ruud’s remote property in 2017. 

The change of trial date was made during a pre-trial conference hearing Nov. 29 before Circuit Judge Calvin Ray Holden in Greene County Court. Ruud appeared with her attorney, Lauren Kate Welborn. On Nov. 13, attorney Steven Kretzer also filed as  Ruud’s counsel. Both Welborn and Kretzer work for the Missouri Public Defender’s Office. Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant represents the state. 

At the hearing, Welborn asked for the continuance, and Holden sustained the motion. Online court records say the location of the jury trial is to be reviewed prior to the trial. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 17, also in Greene County. Ruud was remanded back to the custody of the Greene County Jail after the hearing for transport to the Taney County Jail, where she is being held after a change-of-venue motion from Ozark County and a change-of-judge motion were sustained several months ago. Court appearances have been held in Greene County Court for the convenience of Holden, the assigned judge.

Ruud’s co-defendant and husband, Robert Peat Jr., also appeared for a Nov. 29 hearing in Greene County Court, accompanied by defense attorney James Robert Hayes. His case was also transferred out of Ozark County on a change of venue motion. 

Another pre-trial conference was scheduled for Peat for 11 a.m. April 17, when it is expected that his trial date will be set. Peat is currently out on bond. 

Ozark County Times

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