BUFFALO, Mo. –One of the men charged in the death of Cassidy Rainwater was in a Dallas County courtroom Tuesday.

Timothy Norton briefly appeared in court, and the judge scheduled a criminal setting for July 26, 2022.

Norton and his codefendant, James Phelps, are charged with First-Degree Murder and Abandonment of a Corpse in the death of Cassidy Rainwater in 2021.

Norton has pleaded not guilty. In November, Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Barker told the court Norton confessed he and Phelps would search for potential victims online as well as at a nearby Walmart.

Court documents accuse Phelps and Norton of kidnapping Cassidy Rainwater, killing her, and dismembering her body at a home on Mood Valley Road near Windyville, Missouri.

The house where James Phelps was staying burned to the ground in October of 2021, not long after Phelps and Norton were arrested. Investigators found explosive devices on the property after the fire.

James Phelps is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 14, 2022. His attorney has filed a motion to dismiss charges of Abandonment of a Corpse against Phelps.