BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON - James Lee Lawson pleaded not guilty Friday to the murder and dismemberment of a Butler County woman.
Judge John Moser of Butler County Common Pleas Court ordered that Mr. Lawson, in court in handcuffs and leg shackles, stay in the Butler County Jail without bond.
As with Mr. Lawson's appearance in Middletown Municipal Court last week, the common pleas courtroom was under heavier than normal security. Deputies brought Mr. Lawson into the courtroom through the judge's chambers.
Mr. Lawson, 29, of Middletown, has been indicted on charges of murder, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. He is accused of killing Cheryl Durkin, 34, of Madison Township. Her torso was discovered in the Great Miami River in Hamilton in April.
Mr. Lawson's mother, Ellen Peck, led police to places in Preble County and Indiana where Ms. Durkin's other body parts were buried. Ms. Peck, 46, of Middletown, pleaded guilty last week to charges of obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. She was sentenced to four years in prison.
After eluding authorities for three months, Mr. Lawson was arrested Nov. 28 in Carrollton, Ky.
Jerry Bryant, Mr. Lawson's attorney, asked Judge Moser to set a bond for his client. But Assistant Prosecutor John McCracken objected.
Judge Moser said the seriousness of the case and Mr. Lawson's three-month flight convinced him he should be held without bond. Several of Ms. Durkin's relatives sat quietly during Friday's hearing.
"I'm just glad they kept it at no bond," Ms. Durkin's sister, Karla Edwards of Madison Township, said after the hearing.
Mr. Lawson will appear in court for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 19.
