FRANKLIN COUNTY  — A trial date has been set for Warren Taylor, 62, of Chamois, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action for allegedly murdering Leonard and Pauline Gerloff at their Chamois home on July 23, 2021. 

On Friday, Franklin County Judge Ryan J. Helfrich scheduled Taylor’s jury trial to begin on Sept. 18, 2023.

Osage County Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Grellner said she is glad to finally have a date to begin the trial.

“I am ready to proceed with the trial, so we can do all we can to bring some closure to this family,” she added. “The criminal justice process tends to extend the grieving process in a way that keeps loved ones from truly feeling closure, and I hate that for all of them. They deserve to have this matter brought to a conclusion.

“The reason it is set out to (Sept. 18, 2023) is that we will need a full week to try the case, and due to everyone’s calendar, including the court’s calendar, that is as soon as we could find a full week to have it set,” Grellner added.

Taylor has been held without bond in Franklin County after a change of venue was granted by Judge I.I. Lamke.

Osage County deputies took him into custody on July 24, 2021, the day the bodies were discovered by family members.

Grellner explained the delay in setting a trial date involves several factors.

Defense attorneys requested additional information. “We are already working on obtaining and providing to him,” said Grellner. “It is additional information that we do not already have, but in the interest of trying to get this all done as quickly as possible, we are working to obtain it so we can ensure there are no stones left unturned.”

Taylor denied being involved in the murder and said he was at the Twist A Top bar with his truck at the time of the murders. However, witnesses dispute his claim, telling authorities that he had left the bar near the time of the crime.

Investigators testified that they have surveillance video and a witness that put Taylor at the scene.  

On Friday, July 24, the night murders were reported, officers located Taylor’s truck outside a local bar with blood on the fender.

Law enforcement officials also recovered a brushed-nickel .357 Magnum with a black grip from Shawnee Creek, near Chamois. Ballistics testing concluded that the bullet fragments taken from the bodies matched the weapon, proving that the handgun was used to kill Leonard and Pauline Gerloff.