Travis Standlee pleads not guilty to killing two homeless people in September

Travis Standlee, accused of strangling to death two people earlier this month, pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder Tuesday.

David Grinde, Standlee's lawyer, said Wednesday Standlee filed a written plea and also waived his 90-day speedy trial right. Grinde said he requested the court to set his trial for next May.

Standlee, 44, who is homeless, is accused of killing Raymond Ursino, 56, who was found dead on Sept. 5 in a church parking lot and Sharon Mead, 41, who was found near a bus stop at Coe College on Sept. 11. According to a criminal complaint, both Ursino and Mead had been strangled and had 'strikingly similar injuries.' Police said surveillance video showed Standlee and Ursino fighting near where Ursino's body was found. And they also found finger prints on a can near Mead's body, the complaint shows. Standlee was arrested at a homeless shelter in Des Moines on Sept. 22.

He had been previously arrested in Ursino's death by Cedar Rapids police on Sept. 9 but the next day Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said there was lack of evidence to charge him and he asked police to continue the investigation.

Standlee was then released from jail on Sept. 10 and according to police Mead died on or about Sept. 11.

Vander Sanden and Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said they could not comment on the circumstances surrounding Standlee's release and his subsequent actions because this an ongoing investigation.

If convicted, Standlee faces life in prison without parole.