Nicole Lovell case: Eisenhauer murder trial continued

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – The man charged with first-degree murder of a 13-year-old in Blacksburg will not go to trial until the spring.

On Wednesday, at David Eisenhauer's pretrial motions hearing, the judge granted a continuance, meaning Eisenhauer's trial will not start until next year.

David Eisenhauer is charged with murdering 13-year old Nicole Lovell last year. Lovell was reported missing on January 27, after she crawled from her bedroom window, carrying her "Minion" blanket. Police found the girl's body three days later in Surry County, North Carolina. Court documents and testimony indicate that Eisenhauer, a college student, met the 7th grader at a party, continued a relationship with her, and then convinced her to meet him. Eisenhauer is accused of then taking Lovell to a wooded area in Montgomery County and stabbing her to death. 

During the motions hearing, Eisenhauer's defense team asked for a continuance of the trial. The team argues that raw data within some of the devices seized in the case could contain evidence. 

Judge Robert Turk agreed to a continuance. Now Eisenhauer's original trial date of November 6 will be used to set a new trial date for sometime next year. On November 6, the court will also review a motion to suppress from the defense. Eisenhauer's lawyers argue that police illegally entered his dorm room on January 29 and later continued asking him questions after he asked for a lawyer.  They are asking for the judge to throw out any statements made at that time. 

Natalie Keepers faces charges of being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder and concealing a body. During her interrogation, keepers gave a detailed description of Eisenhauer's relationship with Lovell and how keepers herself helped conceal the body. In March, a judge ruled that some of Keepers' statements will be suppressed. The judge said some of the statements made before Keepers was given her Miranda rights cannot be used in court. But now her legal team is asking for more. The team has filed a motion to reconsider and clarify that suppression. Her team believes all statements and evidence related to that time period without her Miranda rights should not be allowed at trial. Keeper's trial is set for February of 2018, but with Eisenhauer's trial being pushed back, that could change.