Robert Richards appeared March 30 with defense attorney Kale Mackenzie Brock in Lyon County’s Third Judicial District Court before Judge Leon Aberasturi for a status hearing.
Richards is charged in connection with the March 2024 death of 25-year-old Sara Filiatraut after investigators with the Lyon and Churchill County sheriff’s offices found her body in May in a remote desert pit about 30 miles east of Fallon.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, believing Filiatraut was killed around March 23, 2024. Before she was reported missing, Richards had been arrested on April 8 in an unrelated case, released on his own recognizance on April 10, and later admitted to investigators that he had been with Filiatraut the night of March 22, claiming she left his trailer at the Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley.
On July 25, 2024, prosecutors concluded they had sufficient evidence and filed murder charges against Richards, leading to a multistate manhunt. Richards was extradited from Utah in November 2024, denied bail, and later evaluated and determined competent to stand trial. He pleaded not guilty on Feb. 9.
Judge Aberasturi said a criminal settlement conference is scheduled for July. At that time, both parties will present their cases to an out-of-district senior district court judge. If the matter is not resolved, the case is set for jury trial Oct. 27 through Nov. 6.
Brock told the court the defense intends to seek a change of venue, which would transfer the case to another county. Motions for change of venue must be filed in writing and include a supporting affidavit outlining the reasons for the request.
Aberasturi noted that changes of venue are rare and said it has been 12 years since he presided over such a hearing. He said any motion must be filed before the settlement conference, after which the court can schedule a change of venue hearing.
Richards remains in custody on a no-bail hold at the Lyon County Jail.
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