A man accused of killing two people, including a child, in Charleston has been granted a third change of legal counsel as his case moves toward trial in Kanawha County.
Nicholas Hanshaw, 40, is charged with fatally stabbing 10-year-old Richie Hancock and 62-year-old Sherry Russell at a Charleston home in December 2023. He has been indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.
During a court appearance Tuesday, Hanshaw requested a new attorney for the third time. Kanawha County Judge Tera Salango approved the request, replacing attorney Mark Plants with John Belinovich, but warned Hanshaw that no further changes would be allowed.
Plants told the court that communication between him and Hanshaw had deteriorated ahead of the scheduled March 30 trial.
Hanshaw was arrested on Dec. 5, 2023, after police said he entered a local car dealership and told employees he needed a vehicle because he had killed two people. Officers later found Hancock and Russell dead from stab wounds at a residence in the 1500 block of Dorchester Road.
Authorities said Russell was Hanshaw’s mother and had custody of the child.