BUFFALO, Mo. — A preliminary hearing for one of the men accused of kidnapping and killing Cassidy Rainwater has been rescheduled.

James Phelps will have a preliminary hearing on July 14, 2022. The original date of that hearing was June 3.

In March, Phelps’ public defender Tom Jacquinot filed a motion to dismiss a charge of abandonment of a corpse. The judge was expected to hear the defense’s reasons for filing that motion at Phelps’ next hearing, so those arguments could be made during the July 14 court date.

Timothy Norton, who is also charged in connection with Rainwater’s death, is scheduled for an arraignment on April 26.

Both Phelps and Norton are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and abandonment of a corpse.

Cassidy Rainwater’s remains were found on a property where Phelps lived. Phelps and Norton were arrested in September and charged with the kidnapping of Cassidy Rainwater. Rainwater was last seen in July and was reported missing in late August.