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New judge presiding over Groves case

LOCK HAVEN — Lycoming County Retired Judge Kenneth Brown has replaced Clinton County Retired Judge Carson V. Brown presiding over the prosecution of accused murderer Loyd W. Groves.

Carson Brown has stepped down due to personal reasons, according to the Clinton County Administrator’s Office.

Judge Kenneth Brown was age 39 when he was appointed judge by the governor. He was unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate in June, 1988, and assumed his duties as Lycoming County judge on July 6, 1988. He served first as assistant public defender and then as assistant district attorney, and participated in literally hundreds of criminal cases including numerous homicide trials.

Judge Kenneth Brown will take the bench for the first time in this case on Thursday when Groves is scheduled for a pre-trial conference at 3:30 p.m.

Groves, now 68, was arrested in January 2015 and charged with killing Katherine Dolan Heckel some 25 years ago.

State police filed murder charges against Groves and brought him back to Clinton County from Ohio after an investigating grand jury recommended prosecution.

Meanwhile, Groves remains in the county prison without bail on the first-degree murder charge.

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