Murder suspect makes court appearance

Murder suspect Mark Bishop, of Moundville, Mo., made an appearance in the Vernon County courtroom of Judge James R. Bickel on Friday with his attorney Rebecca Elliston, who filed a motion for discovery of medical records.

Security was not as tight as it has been for Bishop's previous appearances. There were only a handful of Mary Bishop's family members in the gallery when a shackled Bishop, who looked a little paler and a little heavier, was led into the courtroom by Vernon County Sheriff's Office deputies. No one had to pass a metal detector to enter the court room. Three, sometimes four deputies were present during the hearing.

The gallery was silent as the brief hearing took place. When asked the state's position on the motion, prosecutor Lynn M. Ewing III replied that he had "read the motion" and that he certainly did not want a case coming back on appeal because the defense did not have access to the records, but he did have concerns about how helpful the victim's psychological records would be to the defense.

Bickel said he understood that the defense was seeking records from 16 different facilities and that some of them were medical and some of them were psychological facilities. Bickel said he would need an explanation for how the psychological records "would move the defense forward."

Elliston said the victim had some "medications issues -- a propensity to fall" because of the medications and the amounts taken. She said the victim took more than what was prescribed.

Bickel said he would "enter an order that those providers provide these records to the court" and that he would review the records and make a recommendation as to which records would be admissible and which would not. The list of facilities was reviewed and the proceeding was adjourned.

Bishop was originally arrested and jailed on a domestic assault charge filed on Oct. 2, 2011, after deputies responded to a drug overdose call on Oct. 1 at Bishop's Moundville residence, but that charge has been amended to a single count of second-degree murder.

Responding officers found Bishop's wife, Mary Bishop, unresponsive. She was transported to the Nevada Regional Medical Center, then to a Joplin hospital by helicopter, after X-rays revealed on Oct. 2 that she was bleeding on both sides of her brain.

Court documents show a doctor told investigators "that based on the X-rays of Mary's head, someone has beat her up." The doctor also said an injury to her chin could have been caused by a ring on someone's finger; and it appeared as though "someone had stomped on her chest area."

During the investigation, Bishop denied ever hitting his wife and told the deputy that she had recently been tripped by the dogs and that she had also tripped and fallen off the back steps.

The assault charges were amended to first degree murder after Mary Bishop died of her injuries in a Joplin hospital. The charge was amended again to second-degree murder on March 1, and Bishop pleaded not guilty later that month.

On Aug. 21, Bickel set a trial date of March 12-15, 2013. Bishop remains in custody in the Vernon County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond.