The murder trial of an Osage teen who’s accused of murdering his mother last year is scheduled to start this week. Jury selection is scheduled to start on Tuesday at the Wright County Courthouse in Clarion in the trial of 14-year-old Noah Crooks.
Crooks is accused of shooting his mother Gretchen with a rifle in March 2012 at the family’s rural home. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse.
The trial was moved from Mitchell County to Wright County after a judge approved a change of venue request late last year after the boy’s attorneys cited negative pre-trial publicity.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City