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(NewsDakota.com) – A Jamestown woman and man accused of murder will now be put on trial separately.

22-year-old Janelle Alexandra Cave and 34-year-old Leron Lee Howard are charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in the death of 18-year-old Abdi Ali Ahmed, whose body was discovered in a ditch near Spiritwood on April 30, 2011. Authorities say he was stabbed and suffered blunt force trauma.

Cave and Howard were scheduled to go on trial together starting Feb. 6, but the trials were separated on Monday afternoon after a pretrial conference. Unless a plea agreement is reached, Cave is scheduled to face a 12-member jury trial from Feb. 6-17. Howard is now scheduled to go on trial Aug. 7-17, according to North Dakota’s courts web site.

Judge Thomas E. Merrick will preside over both trials. Howard could still be tried Feb. 6-17 if Cave’s trial does not happen.

Both Howard and Cave face Class AA felony charges of murder and criminal conspiracy, punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Jury selection for the first trial is Monday. A pool of about 75 potential jurors has been called.

Stutsman County State’s Attorney Fritz Fremgen is representing the state in both trials. Cave is represented by David Ogren, a court-appointed attorney. Howard retained his own attorney, Steven D. Mottinger.