One murder trial reset for man accused of strangling two people in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - One murder trial for a man accused of strangling two people last September has been reset to May 31 in Linn County District Court.

Travis Standlee is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Raymond Ursino, 56, who was found dead Sept. 5 in a church parking lot. Police said surveillance video showed Standlee and Ursino fighting near where Ursino's body was found.

Standlee, 44, who is homeless, also is accused in the death of Sharon Mead, 41, whose body was found Sept. 11 near a bus stop at Coe College.

According to a criminal complaint, Ursino and Mead had been strangled and had 'strikingly similar injuries.” Police found fingerprints on a can near Mead's body. Standlee was arrested Sept. 22 at a homeless shelter in Des Moines.

He had been arrested in Ursino's death Sept. 9, but the next day, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said there was not enough evidence to charge him, and he asked police to continue the investigation.

Standlee was released from jail Sept. 10, and Mead was killed the next day.

Vander Sanden and Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman refused to comment on the circumstances surrounding Standlee's release and his subsequent actions, because the investigation is ongoing.

Standlee's trial in Mead's death is set for Aug. 22.

If convicted of both charges, Standlee faces two life sentences.