Double murder suspect Bobby Spikes was newly arraigned in Christian Circuit Court Monday morning, along with having a trial date set for November.
A superseding indictment was recently handed down by the grand jury against Spikes, charging him with two counts of murder, for the deaths of Stanley Bussell and Candace Marcel, who was found deceased in a vehicle in Trigg County, which lead to the search and ultimately discovery of Bussell on Clearman Court in 2021. He’s also indicted for two counts of robbery in the first degree, kidnapping, tampering with physical evidence and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
He was arraigned on those charges in court Monday and defense attorney Eric Bearden requested more time to determine on if Spikes has the right to a new preliminary hearing—he says there’s also the matter of a pending bond motion and other points of order.
Both the defense and prosecution are looking to get more DNA testing accomplished, with the hope that it would be completed by June. Judge John Atkins urged them to make sure that testing is complete in time, as delays have been commonplace and Spikes has been waiting for a lengthy amount of time at this point.
Judge Atkins noted the superseding indictment came with the aggravated circumstances tag, and special prosecutor Blake Chambers clarified they intend to pursue life without parole.
A trial date was set for November 4, with it likely there will be evidentiary hearings and pretrial conferences before then.
Hopkinsville police allege that on December 8, 2021 Spikes and his girlfriend called Bussell to a home on Clearman Court to work on a vehicle and that’s when he fatally shot him in the head.