Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Holbrook set the date Monday during a Zoom video conference with prosecuting and defense attorneys. Husel, who has been free on $1 million bond since shortly after his arrest, listened in on the hearing but didn't speak.
Holbrook said he has about 20 other murder cases on his docket due to the backup caused by the pandemic, and defendants who are in jail and want a trial have priority, meaning he won't be available to try Husel's case this year.
Each of the 25 counts of murder represents a separate intensive-care patient whom investigators allege died of an overdose of pain medication while under Husel's care in Mount Carmel Health hospitals from February 2015 through November 2018.