WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A judge has decided the trials won’t be moved out of Polk County for the adoptive parents of a West Des Moines teenager who officials say was starved to death. Court records say Judge Karen Romano ruled Monday that Nicole Finn and Joseph Finn II have not sufficiently shown that pretrial publicity has ruined any chance for fair trials in Polk County.
Nicole Finn is charged with murder and other charges in the death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn. Her trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 23. Joseph Finn II is charged with kidnapping, neglect or abandonment and child endangerment. His trial is set to begin Nov. 27.
The judge says she’ll reconsider her ruling if it becomes apparent that further pretrial publicity will prevent fair Polk County trials for both.