SPRINGFIELD — For the seventh time, a suspect in the Candance Prunty murder case has faced trial. The last six never happened.
The suspect is accused of killing a mother of three in Clark County. The victim’s mother has seen the trial moved too many times.
On Tuesday, she told News Center 7 that she feels good that there will not be any more delays in getting justice for her daughter.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Questions about snow returning to the Valley
- 25-year-old man dies after motorcycle hits van in Ohio
- Police searching for 2 women accused of stealing items from Ulta Beauty,
It’s been a long journey for Patricia Beard. “I have up days, down days, but today I’m feeling very grateful and thankful and blessed,” Beard said. “Because we finally got a trial date set.”
Thomas Albert has been a murder suspect in Clark County for nearly four and a half years. He’s accused of killing Prunty.
News Center 7 first featured Prunty’s homicide as a Miami Valley Murder Mystery case. Clark County Prosecutors said Albert was dating Prunty in the summer of 2015. That’s when Prunty broke off the short relationship.
Springfield Police said Albert being upset about the breakup was the motive in her death.
Clark County Common Pleas Court Judge Brian Driscoll said, “I will find that he’s competent to stay in trial.”
A psychologist evaluated Albert earlier this month. He’s on his fourth defense lawyer. He fired his first three.
His trial has been scheduled and rescheduled more than a half dozen times.
“The next matter is trial dates,” Driscoll said. He set a new trial date for March 2026.
Beard said, “And unlike all the other dates, this one I feel really confident about.”
She said she’s confident this is the start of the final stages of this case.
“I’m hopeful and grateful and believing that we can move on with this,” Beard said. She continued by saying, “It’s going to work itself out. God and the universe are going to see to it. No matter what we do, people have to answer for what they do. And this is going to be his consequence.”
Albert is already in prison for an unrelated attempted murder conviction in Columbus. He isn’t up for parole in that case until 2045. So, he’s in custody in the state prison system before his trial.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
