73-year-old to be tried in wife's death

An appeals court ordered a 73-year-old surgeon to stand trial in the fatal poisoning of his wife 39 years ago, ruling that the passage of time has not hindered his chance for fair treatment.

A three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a judge's dismissal of the case against Charles William Mercer in August.

The lower court had ruled too much time had gone by for Mercer to receive a fair trial, but the appellate panel decided there was no evidence of prejudice or intent by prosecutors to gain tactical advantage through delays.

Sally Mercer died in 1968 at the couple's home in Okemos in southern Michigan at the age of 31. Her death originally was blamed on bulbar polio. The case was reopened in the mid-1990s, and the woman's remains were exhumed in August 2003. An autopsy showed lethal levels of the pain-reliever propoxyphene.

Charles Mercer was charged with murder last year. Prosecutors argued at a preliminary hearing that he was the only person who could have killed his wife, though original police reports, blood and tissue samples and witness interviews have either been lost or destroyed.

Mercer's lawyer, Linda Widener, said she will now take the case to the state Supreme Court. She said the appeals panel did not consider prior case law that allows a judge to decide if other factors overcome any prejudice the prosecutors might have in their decision to delay a case.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Mercer would face an automatic penalty of life in prison without parole. If convicted of second-degree murder, he would face up to life in prison.