Cameras will be allowed in the courtroom during the murder trial of Justin Thurber, an Arkansas City man accused of killing Jodi Sanderholm last January. The ruling was made by Judge Jim Pringle during a hearing on routine motions Wednesday.
During other court appearances and a preliminary hearing this summer, Pringle has allowed one still photographer and one video photographer in the courtroom. Photos and video taken by those photographers is then distributed for use by all media outlets.
The judge also approved a gag order on participants in the trial that allows only one attorney for the state and one for the defense to discuss the case outside of court, according to a court official. Thurber’s defense team had asked the judge to consider a ban on cameras and asked that the gag order be considered.
Thurber’s trial is set for next summer in Winfield.
Sanderholm disappeared Jan. 5. Her car was found four days later in the Cowley State Fishing Lake, east of Ark City off U.S. 166. Her body was found?about 11 miles away, in a wooded area near the Walnut River.
