Essex Woman Awaits Trial in Husband's Murder

The trial date has once again been postponed for an Essex woman accused of hiring a hitman to murder her husband in 2010.

Karla L. Porter was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband, William R. Porter, a manager at the Hess gas station in the 1600 block of East Joppa Road in Towson.

Baltimore County prosecutor John Cox said Friday that Karla Porter's trial, which is scheduled at Carroll County Circuit Court, has been postponed from March 18 to Aug. 5 due to "the unavailability of the defense attorneys."

The trial was initially slated to begin April 2011.

On March 1, 2010, William Porter was shot twice in the head at the Hess gas station.

Convicted gunman Walter Bishop was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder in November 2011.

Karla Porter's sister Susan M. Datta was found guilty in November 2010 for providing the gun used in the slaying. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole in June 2012, according to online court records. 

The Porters' nephew, Seamus Coyle, was sentenced to life in prison on the murder charge, along with a concurrent sentence of 25 years for conspiracy to commit murder and five years without parole for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence in June 2012 for helping Karla Porter contact Bishop for the murder-for-hire scheme.

Patch editor Tyler Waldman contributed to this report.