LIBERTY, Mo. — A Texas woman accused of the love-triangle murder of a Northland psychiatrist received a continuance in Clay County Court Thursday afternoon.
Shannon O’Roarke Griffin, 54, of Granbury, Texas, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the January 13, 2012, shooting death of Dr. Irina Puscairu, a psychiatrist at the Kansas City V.A. Hospital.
According to court documents, police allege that Griffin drove 250 miles to gun down Puscairu just hours after a marriage counseling session where Griffin’s husband told his wife he was having an affair with Puscairu, and that he refused to end it.
Authorities say that Puscairu’s mother saw the whole thing and identified Griffin from a photo line up. Griffin was arrested shortly after the shooting in Wichita.
Read more here about Griffin’s arrest and case.
On Thursday, Griffin’s attorneys requested a continuance, citing three reasons for it.
First, one of Griffin’s attorneys was to have surgery. Second, her defense team told the judge that one of the witnesses they talked to required an interpreter to communicate. There is concern that the interpreter may have incorrectly communicated something to them and they need to re-depose the witness to be certain of the translation.
Attorneys also said a laptop was recently discovered and may be admitted as evidence but neither the defense nor the prosecution have examined its contents.
The judge granted the continuance and rescheduled the next pre-trial hearing for Sept. 5 and the trial for Sept. 15.
Griffin has been held in the Clay County Jail in lieu of $1 million cash-only bond.