By Howard Packowitz and Mike Brody
TAZEWELL COUNTY, Ill. (25 News) – The suspect accused of murdering 13-year-old Robert Bee of Pekin a decade ago made a brief appearance Monday in Tazewell County Court.
During the hearing, 48-year-old Keith Brackett was assigned a new court date to give his lawyer more time to review the case.
Bee went missing on Nov. 18, 2016, after his mother Lisa had last seen him the day before. Police said the boy’s remains were found in July 2017 behind a house owned by Brackett’s aunt.
Searches of Brackett’s phone included questions about DNA and being a murder suspect.
Investigators learned Brackett and Bee were friends despite their age difference, and that the boy would skip school and sometimes stay over at Brackett’s house.
25 News reports that on Monday, Brackett’s public defender asked for more time to look over the case after the state presented thousands of pages of documents.
Brackett was arrested on April 8th and pleaded not guilty to the charges that include first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death.
Brackett’s next court hearing is set for July 16.
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