A continuance was granted yesterday for the pre-trial hearing of Galareka Harrison, the UA student accused of the Sept. 5 slaying of her roommate, Mia Henderson.
The pre-trial is now scheduled for Jan. 14.
The continuance was requested because the prosecution and the defense are still exchanging discovery, or investigative, reports and information about evidence that can be used during the trial, said David Ricker, community relations coordinator for the Pima County Superior Court.
“”It’s the early stages of trying to figure out what evidence they have,”” Ricker said.
No specific pieces of evidence or information were discussed yesterday.
The parties needed more time to obtain and review evidence, Ricker said.
Harrison pleaded not guilty Sept. 20 to charges of first-degree murder. The charges revealed that Harrison stole Henderson’s CatCard and Social Security card and cashed her $500 check.
Harrison told police officers during an initial interview that there was another man in the room who attacked Henderson, according to transcripts. Harrison said the man later fled the scene through the window.
Later in the interview, the police told Harrison that there is no evidence to support the claim that a man in the room stabbed Henderson.
Harrison asked whether she would go to jail later on in the interview. She then told police that there was no man in the room.
Harrison had returned to her hometown of Chinle the weekend before the day of the murder, court documents state.
On her way home to Tucson with a friend, Harrison asked the friend to pull over to a Target on Oracle Road, where she purchased a knife, saying it was for a class, documents state.
Harrison then returned to her room, where, according to a previously released deposition, she wrote a fictitious suicide note pretending to be Henderson.
Harrison, after a moment of contemplation, then stabbed Henderson, who was sleeping, documents state.
Both women were taken to University Medical Center around 6 a.m. Sept. 5. Henderson was pronounced dead on arrival, and Harrison was arrested and charged with first-degree murder later that day.
Henderson, who suffered nearly two dozen stab wounds, died of wounds to multiple internal organs, according to autopsy reports.
Harrison also sustained wounds, transcripts state, though the exact injuries she sustained were redacted.