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Motions presented in court by defense attorneys for Aaron Schnagl,  asking for a change of venue for his trial,  have been denied.  
The county attorney’s office has tentatively set aside dates in early March for jury selection to begin.

Schnagl was indicted on third degree unintentional murder charges in December 2013. He is the last person believed to have been with Danielle Jelinek, 27,  before her disappearance in 2012. Schnagl told authorities that Jelinek left his house,  south of Chisago City, on foot.  After weeks of volunteer search outings, and local law enforcement investigative efforts,  a state patrol air search located her body in a slough in the township.

Schnagl has been incarcerated since Jelinek’s disappearance, held on separate cocaine possession charges and unmet probation conditions.

In her ruling in late December,  District Judge Suzanne Bollman denied the transfer of venue and said there was no pre-trial publicity that rose to the level of hampering Schnagl’s ability to get a fair trial here.  

A defense motion to dismiss the grand jury charges was also denied. Schnagl’s attorneys claimed the grand jury was shown evidence  improperly admitted and the judge rejected that.

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