According to Art Norris at the District Attorney's office, the trial for Derek Connell has been postponed a year.

 

Connell was charged with murder in the shooting deaths of his mother, Kim Higginbotham, 48, and stepfather, Christopher Tare Higginbotham, 48, in Northwest Bakersfield.

 

He originally was set to stand trial on February 27, 2017, but it was postponed to January 29, 2018. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

 

Before the crime, 29-year-old Connell had been living with his mother and stepfather after serving a DUI jail sentence in Colorado.