KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The trial for a man accused of murder in Kanawha County has been continued to June.

Samuel May appeared for a pretrial hearing in Kanawha County Circuit Court this morning, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. In the hearing, the defense asked for a continuance because they are still waiting for the results of a criminal responsibility report on the defendant. His trial had initially been set to begin on Monday, April 24, 2023.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey granted the continuance, setting the new date for June 5, 2023.

May is charged with murder in the death of Cynthia Mudd, 71, of Cross Lanes. Her body was found in a freezer in August 2022.

May was indicted on Nov. 11, 2022, for first-degree murder, concealment of a deceased human body, fraud, and related activity in connection with an access device. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in December 2022.

According to court records, Samuel Lee May admitted to Kanawha deputies that he killed Mudd, but he could not provide more details because he “blacked out.” He told deputies that Arnold Ward Hiller assisted him in concealing Mudd’s body. May also told deputies that Mudd’s body had been in the freezer for about 30 days.

Hiller was charged with fraud after allegedly withdrawing $1,100 from Mudd’s bank account after she died. Hiller pleaded guilty in Kanawha County Circuit Court in January 2023 to a charge of concealment of a dead body in the case.