An Oct. 6 pretrial hearing has been scheduled for attorneys on both sides of the Lyle Motel fire murder case.

Roger K. Marshall, 56, of 2101 N. Second St. Rear, Ironton, was charged with three counts of aggravated murder and 12 counts of aggravated arson in connection with the Aug. 2 fire that killed James M. Reed, Lolaetta Corbin and John Meyer.

Reed and Meyer lived at the motel; Corbin was visiting. The nine counts of arson are representative of the nine other people who were at the Lyle Motel at the time of the fire, but escaped unharmed.

Marshall was arrested shortly after the fire but was taken to a Columbus-area hospital for treatment of burns to his arms and hands. He was indicted in a special session of the grand jury last month and remains in jail under a $3 million bond.

Marshall is the first person in Lawrence County in six years to face a death penalty, charge.

The last person to be sentenced to death in Lawrence County was Leon Aliff, who was found guilty in March 1999 of murdering his estranged wife, Linda Aliff. He died in prison of cancer in November 2001.