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Published: 11/15/2006 1:53 PM
Updated: 11/15/2006 2:03 PM
Danny Slick, 27, of Charles City, was charged this summer in two federal indictments with making false statements to FBI investigators about the whereabouts of his former roommate and other details in the hours after 5-year-old Evelyn Miller disappeared. He is believed to be one of the last people to see the young girl alive. Slick had pleaded not guilty and his trial was scheduled to begin Nov. 20, but was canceled by the judge. Instead, Judge John Jarvey scheduled a change of plea hearing for Slick on Nov. 27 in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. No other documents have been filed providing details of Slick's plea. Neither assistant U.S. Attorney C.J. Williams nor defense attorney Leslie Stokke immediately returned telephone messages left by The Associated Press this afternoon. Slick has been held in federal custody since his arrest in August for violating terms of his pretrial release. Last month, federal mental health experts evaluated Slick and concluded he was mentally competent to stand trial and assist in his defense. Miller disappeared from her family's apartment in Floyd on July 5, 2005, setting off a massive search. Her body was found five days later on the banks of the Cedar River about two miles downstream of her home. No charges have been filed in her death, but Slick's arrest this summer gave relatives some hope that investigators were close to solving the mystery. At the time, Floyd County Attorney Marilyn Dettmer said the investigation had "turned an important corner." Last week, Floyd County voters chose Charles City attorney Jesse Marzen to replace Dettmer, who has held the office since 1994. Slick was indicted in June, and according to court documents, gave investigators misleading statements about his former roommate Randy Patrie, 33. Authorities say Slick initially said he and Patrie saw the child alive when they stopped at her apartment about 2 a.m. to visit Casey Frederiksen, at the time the live-in boyfriend of Miller's mother. But according to the indictment, authorities say Slick admitted that he lied about the whereabouts of Patrie in his first interview and seeing another person outside Miller's apartment that night.
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