Trial of accused Lee County child killer, rapist could start in February

A man accused of raping and killing a 2-year-old girl in North Fort Myers may face a jury in February. In court on Thursday, Nicholas Canfield's attorneys said they are still going through evidence right now.

In April 2020, the Lee County Sheriff's office said the child suffered sexual abuse and blunt force trauma. Deputies say the child was in Canfield's care.

They responded to the home where she was found unresponsive, the sheriff's office said. The child died at the hospital on May 1.

Watch Canfield's court appearance below:

Canfield stood with no emotion on his face on Thursday was both sides talked about a trial date.

His lawyers told the judge they are going through six boxes of material from the five lawyers previously part of the case.

"I don't think that we could guarantee that we would be ready. There's a lot of material obviously," one of Canfield's lawyers said. "I just got it. I haven't been able to even look at it."

A jury was selected this year, but his attorney had a death in the family, so they pushed it back.

In August, the attorney said they had a conflict of interest and excused themselves from the case, which led to another round of lawyers for Canfield.

He's charged with first-degree murder, sexual battery of a child and several counts of aggravated child abuse.

Canfield is expected back in court on December 3, with a trial possibly in February.

He's facing the death penalty.

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