Donlon trial postponed 4 months

PALMER — A woman accused of murder for shooting her husband in the back while he slept has had her trial pushed back four months.

Lisa Donlon, 38, was set to go to trial Friday, but that date was moved to July 18.

A jury at first declined to charge Donlon with a crime for shooting her husband, Jason. Prosecutors at the time cited evidence of torture and abuse leading up to the slaying as possible reasons the grand jury decided the way it did.

But Donlon’s story eventually fell apart. Prosecutors say the abuse wasn’t nearly as bad as she described it and the grand jury changed its mind.

Rich trial postponed

PALMER — A Willow dog breeder accused of multiple counts of animal cruelty won’t go before a jury until next month.

Frank Rich, from whom the Mat-Su Borough seized more than 150 dogs in January, has a trial date of April 14, according to court records. He is charged in Palmer District Court with 50 counts of animal cruelty. Borough officials say the dogs were starving and dehydrated and some had died by the time animal control officers arrived.

In the meantime, the borough has taken ownership of the dogs and begun to adopt them out. Officials there announced last week that six of them were sent on donated Delta Airline flights to rescue groups in the Lower-48. Four were sent to Montana and two to Idaho.