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Destiny Remezas Daily Egyptian

A new trial date has been set for the man charged with the 1981 murder of SIUC student Susan Schumake.

Jury selection in the trial of Daniel Woloson was set to start on July 12, but Jackson County State's Attorney Michael Wepsiec said the defense moved to set a new trial date. The new date of September 19 was granted.

Woloson has been incarcerated in Jackson County Jail with a $500,000 bond since September 2004. Preliminary hearings began in October 2004.

The new trial date will fall just short of one year from when Woloson was arrested, despite Jackson County Judge Donald Lowery statement at a pretrial hearing that he wanted to avoid delays.

"I've tried a number of murder cases and continuances do occur in these cases," Wepsiec said.

This August will mark the 24th anniversary of Schumake's murder.

Schumake's body was found in August 1981 on the east side of campus near U.S. Hwy 51. At the time of the 21-year-old's murder, Woloson worked at the Quadrangle Apartments.

After DNA from the exhumed body of a convicted murder thought to have killed Schumake did not match DNA found at the scene, police began looking at other leads.

In 2001 police redirected their investigation and focused on Woloson, who lived in Michigan at the time. Woloson was arrested in Washtenaw County, Mich., and transported to the Jackson County Jail in Murphysboro.

Reporter Destiny Remezas can be reached at destiny_remezas@dailyegyptian.com