The trial for the man charged with the murder of 39-year-old David Madison is set for two weeks, with a possible third week, starting June 20.

Michael Francis McIntosh, 38, was charged Nov. 9, 2015, with second-degree intentional murder in the killing of Madison, who was killed over Halloween weekend and was found Nov. 1, 2015, in the Cedar River along Highway 105 south of Austin.

McIntosh appeared, clad in an orange jail uniform, before Judge Jeffrey Kritzer in Mower County Court Friday for a scheduling conference, where the two- to three-week trial was scheduled for June 20 to July 1 with an option for the trial to continue the week of the Fourth of July.

Based on the amount of evidence and number of witness, prosecuting attorney Jeremy Clinefelter said the trial could take up to three weeks.

“I think it will take a minimum of two weeks and could easily go into the third week,” Clinefelter said.

Clinefelter noted the prosecution had at least 63 items as evidence, including cell phones, and several witnesses, and he added the prosecution has been working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in regards to the evidence.

However, the trial could be moved back if the prosecution and the defense both are not ready for trial. Evan Larson, McIntosh’s defense attorney, told Kritzer they will try to be ready by that day, but he added, “I think that might be a bit optimistic.”

If the case needs to be moved back, that could be determined at a pretrial set for 1:30 p.m. May 23.

The case has already been bumped back, as a McIntosh was scheduled for a pre-trial Feb 12, but it was postponed since neither party was ready for trial given the amount of material to process.

The case

A medical examiner found Madison died of “non-accidental blunt head trauma and ligature strangulation,” according to court documents.

Madison and McIntosh were friends at one time, according to Sheriff Terese Amazi, but according to the court report had a tense relationship leading up to the incident. Deputies arrested himNov. 6. He appeared in court Nov. 9 for an initial appearance and is being held on unconditional $1 million bond or $500,000 bond with conditions, and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison if convicted.

Madison and McIntosh had recent tension over a woman, and Madison told several people he feared McIntosh intended to harm him when released from jail Oct. 29, 2015. Investigators found evidence leading to McIntosh including him buying a cleaning agent, garbage bags and paper towels. Investigators found a half-gallon bottle of bleach among small, red stains, tire irons and the handle of a hammer in a vehicle parked at McIntosh’s home, along with items found in the kitchen including cleaning supplies, bleach, and several blunt objects including a pipe-wrench, a hammer, a bed leg shaved to look like a club, and an expandable baton, which was bent, and a pair of jeans with a dark stain similar to a blood stain and a hat with caked with mud similar to the riverbank where Madison was found.

The court complaint described two other couples, along with McIntosh’s girlfriend, involved in the situation. Some of the other people involved reported hearing Madison breathing when they left the home where they reported finding him beaten badly, but no emergency calls were made for aid and no attempts were made to take Madison to the hospital, according to the complaint.

On Nov. 5, 2015, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension crime scene team investigated the South Main Street home, finding more than 40 spots that tested presumptively for blood in the kitchen, back doorway and back steps. Over the course of Nov. 1 through Nov. 7, police taped off a home at the corner of Eighth Street Northeast and Third Avenue Northeast and the home at Fifth Avenue Northeast.