Three weeks following a granted motion of continuance to delay an identity theft trial for Jordan Bowers, the biological mother and a prime suspect in the disappearance of 6-year-old Oakley Carlson, another delay has been approved, this time for a pre-trial conference.

What was designed for state prosecutors and Bowers’ defense attorney, Michael Nagle, to address any “scheduling issues or discovery issues” as stated by Judge Katherine Svoboda, the pre-assigned judge for the trial, during the last hearing of the matter on March 13, quickly turned into a request for more time.

Bowers, who is currently being held in Grays Harbor County Jail on four counts of identity fraud, appeared in court via Zoom as the hearing progressed.

Prosecuting Attorney Leanne Stogsdill, who was filling in for an absent Richard Petersen, was adamant to point out the delay wouldn’t be too long.

“My notes from Mr. Petersen are that he’d like to request to set over pre-trial for one week to negotiate. My understanding is that there is still plenty of time left on speedy trial,” said Stogsdill.

With Nagle holding no objection to the one-week delay, Judge Svoboda granted the continuance but reiterated that no more additional time would be granted with the trial scheduled for the first week of May.

“I’ll set the pre-trial over one week but we’re running out of dates so there’s not going to be another set over. Plenty of time is probably an overstatement,” said Judge Svoboda.

While it remains unclear what negotiations are currently being worked on by prosecutors regarding Bowers’s case, Petersen made it known to The Daily World following the conclusion of the March 13 hearing that a plea deal is available and that, if accepted, Bowers would be sentenced to a maximum of 70 months in prison with good time credit for early release potential. She would also be forced to pay all restitution to the victims.

The new pre-trial conference for Bowers is slated to commence at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, April 10. Pending any new revelations from the pre-trial conference, trial readiness is still slated for April 24 and the trial will still begin on May 2 and conclude on May 5.

Contact Reporter Allen Leister at 360-463-3572 or allen.leister@thedailyworld.com