The trial for Aaron Schnagl, indicted two months ago for third-degree murder in the death of Danielle Jelinek of Oakdale in December 2012, is still several months off.

Schnagl made a brief court appearance Monday before Chisago District Judge Suzanne Bollman. At that time, Schnagl's private attorney was replaced by a public defender, Nathan Sosinski, who has only begun to sift through evidence gathered by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which investigated Jelinik's death. Schnagl's next court date is May 5; a trial likely would begin a few months later.

Schnagl, 29, convicted earlier this year of drug charges, has been in custody at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Rush City. He is accused of causing Jelinek's death by providing her with the illegal drugs — in this case, cocaine — that killed her.

Jelinek's family reported her missing on Dec. 9, 2012, the day after she had left the Oakdale home she shared with her sister to meet Schnagl. When deputies arrived at Schnagl's residence in Chisago Lake Township, they detected an odor of marijuana and immediately began an investigation. Her body was found in a marshy area about a quarter-mile from the home on May 10.

Jim Anderson