A motion hearing—but no trial date—has been set for two men who face murder charges for a killing in Verbena.

A hearing for Christopher Kroeger and Joshua Ready will be held at 9 a.m. on Feb. 9 at the Chilton County Courthouse, with Judge Ben Fuller presiding, and is open to the public. The proceeding will help decide if and when the case will go to trial.

“That’s normal for a case like this, for lawyers to have motion hearings and judges to decide,” said Jenny Hamilton, communications director with the office of Randall Houston, district attorney of the 19th Judicial Circuit.

Hamilton said Fuller would decide on a trial either during the hearing or shortly thereafter.

“It’s always up to the judge,” Hamilton said. “The (trial) date would just depend on the judge’s schedule.”

Kroeger, 21 at the time of his arrest on Dec. 27, 2009, and Ready, 18, were charged with murder after Chilton County Sheriff’s Department deputies found the body of Steven Dorough burning.

It was determined Dorough, 18, of Marbury, died from a gunshot wound before he was set ablaze.

Kroeger’s residence was in Prattville, and Ready is from Montgomery.