Attempted murder case to be tried in Indianola

Warren County will be the new venue for the jury trial in the case of the State of Iowa v. George W. Douglas.

Originally scheduled to begin Oct. 13 in Clarke County, Douglas filed an oral motion on day one of the trial with no resistance from the state. At the time, it was found that the jury pool in Clarke County had knowledge about both the case and the parties involved, making it difficult to hold a fair trial. However both parties requested different locations - Douglas requested Adair County and the state Warren County.

On Dec. 4, Judge Elisabeth Reynoldson ordered the change of venue to Warren County. The state filed a motion Dec. 17 requesting the Chief Judge specially assign Reynoldson as the trial judge in the matter, in order to use judicial resources wisely, as Reynoldson had already heard much of the pre-trial motions and orders up to jury selection. The Chief Judge of each judicial district has the authority to assign various labels of judge to different cases.

The order assigning Reynoldson to the case was signed by Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Michael D. Huppert Dec. 22.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 22 at the Clarke County Courthouse with a jury trial scheduled to begin Feb. 11 at the Warren County Courthouse.

Douglas is currently accused of going armed with intent and the attempted murder from a Dec. 5, 2024 incident; he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.

In September 2025, Douglas filed his intent to rely on the defense of intoxication.