CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The trial in the child molestation case against Jarred Harrell has been delayed.
Harrell is accused of kidnapping, assaulting and killing 7-year-old Somer Thompson in October 2009. He hasn't been in court since he was arraigned in 2010.
Harrell is also charged with child molestation of a 3-year-old and possession of child pornography in cases unrelated to Somer's killing.
His trial on the child molestation charges was schedule to start in two weeks, but on Tuesday, a Clay County judge granted a defense request for more time to prepare for that trial. It was pushed back to May 7.
Harrell's next pretrial hearing is set for March 12. A date for his murder trial has not been set.
Diena Thompson, Somer's mother, said at her Orange Park home Tuesday afternoon that she's frustrated by the court proceedings, but she's willing to seek justice for her daughter, who was kidnapped while walking home from school and later found dead in a landfill.
"I'm definitely frustrated that it gets pushed back, but if it's going to make justice happen and make it more profound, then that's exactly what I want to do," Thompson said of having to wait for Harrell's trial.
Thompson said she wants to keep her daughter's case in the forefront, hoping one day her daughter's killer will get what he deserves.
"It is difficult because there's still so much about the case that I don't know like the rest of the world, and i just want to know the answers," Thompson said. "And how and why. 'Why' will probably never get answered, but I still want to know as a mother."
Thompson said she thinks about her daughter Somer every day. Each time she prays that justice will be done. And every time the man accused of killing Somer is even scheduled to be in court, though he hasn't shown up in more than a year, she is there.
"I don't think there's ever closure," Thompson said. "I think there's resolution. I think that you learn how to live with this. I think you learn how to get on and pick up the pieces. But there's always a blackness and emptiness inside you when someone takes away something so very precious away from you."
Thompson said she wants all children to be safe and has pushed for that with the Somer Thompson Foundation.
She said she's confident Harrell will get convicted on all the charges for which he's accused. And for every time he or his lawyers are scheduled in court, she has this promise.
"I will be there every day because I want him and all the other monsters like him to know that mommas aren't going to just sit back and let you do this to our children," Thompson said.