BUTTE — A state judge has scheduled a Feb. 8 retrial for a 25-year-old man accused of beating his father to death in 2008.
Jurors deadlocked in Adam Hatfield’s first trial and District Judge Kurt Krueger declared a mistrial on April 16.
His retrial had been scheduled for Sept. 8, but his family hired a private attorney who asked for more time to prepare.
Prosecutors believe Hatfield killed 49-year-old Matt Hatfield with a baseball bat and then tried to burn the bat.
The case went cold until a grizzly bear researcher discovered a skull north of Butte in 2010. DNA testing matched it to blood found in Matt Hatfield’s cabin and on the bat.
The Montana Standard reports Hatfield has been jailed with his bail set at $500,000 since his arrest in 2014.