Two Clinton County residents charged in the October murder of Jimmy Sidwell, Jr. of Alpha, appeared last week in Circuit Court before Judge David L. Williams.

Michael E. Thompson and Andrea Byler both entered pleas of not guilty to charges of murder, first degree robbery and tampering with physical evidence.

Thompson was interviewed by the pretrial release officer and was determined to be eligible for the services of the Department of Public Advocacy. Attorney Angie Capps of Burkesville was appointed to represent the defendant.

Byler appeared with her defense attorney Thomas Carroll of Monticello.

Both defendants waived formal arraignment and entered the not guilty plea. Judge Williams set a pretrial conference for both defendants for February 13, 2014.

Both Thompson and Byler were arrested on October 27 of this year and charged in connection with Sidwell’s murder, according to the Kentucky State Police.

The body of Sidwell was discovered the previous afternoon, Saturday, October 26 underneath an unoccupied trailer on Cody Lane in Albany.

According to autopsy reports from the State Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the upper torso.

During the initial course of the investigation, Albany Police Chief Ernest Guffey indicated the crime had taken place elsewhere and the body moved to the location where it was found. “We…determined that it wasn’t the initial crime scene because there just wasn’t enough blood there. With the wounds the body had sustained, there would have been a lot of blood,” Guffey said.

After the initial investigation, Byler and Thompson were arrested and lodged in Clinton County Jail. KSP Detective Ricky Brooks is the lead investigator in the case.