Eugene Blake is charged in the shooting death of 21-year-old Mark Withers at a Bridgeport, Ohio, park in March 1982. A 17-year-old who was in Withers' parked car with him was raped.

Blake currently is serving 15 years to life in West Virginia for killing a 13-year-old Wheeling girl.

The Huntington, W.Va., man was indicted by a grand jury in June 2008 in connection with Withers' killing and has been in the Belmont County Jail since March.

He faces the death penalty in Ohio for the new charges.

Monday, Blake waived his right to appear in court for a motion hearing. In total, defense and prosecuting attorneys brought 31 motions before the court to get the case closer to trial.

The defense requested a change of venue, but a judge will not make a ruling on that until an attempt to seat a jury has been made.

Blake was not present during the hearing, something the prosecution said was out of the ordinary.

"It is quite unusual for the defendant to not want to be present during one of their hearings," Prosecuting Attorney Chris Berhalter said.

A trial is currently scheduled to start Nov. 3. Berhalter said he expects more motions -- perhaps up to 70 in all -- will be filed before then.

He said, "We do understand in a capital case there are quite a few motions to be filed. We want to get through those, give the defendant an opportunity to be heard, so we can get to that trial."

Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage.

Previous Stories: March 5, 2009: Suspect In 1982 Murder Extradited To Belmont County March 4, 2009: Prisoner Accused In Bridgeport Slaying Extradited From West Virginia October 3, 2008: Slaying Suspect Not Set For Extradition July 31, 2008: Slaying Suspect Fights Extradition June 10, 2008: Ohio County Prosecutor: Blake Extremely Dangerous June 6, 2008: Suspect In Cold Case Murder Called 'Serial Killer' June 5, 2008: Suspect Named In 1982 Killing