Jury trial set in Iowa drug case against man charged for Trudy Appleby murder

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A jury trial has been set in an Iowa drug case against man charged for the Trudy Appleby murder.

James Fisher, 50, faces multiple felony drug charges in Scott County. He is accused of possessing more than seven grams of meth and nearly 40 grams of marijuana.

On July 23, police executed a search warrant on a home in the 6200 block of Ripley Street in Davenport as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation involving Fisher. Detectives say a ‘cooperating source’ helped confirm Fisher was regularly selling meth and marijuana, affidavits show.

According to police, Fisher was found in the home with a large amount of illegal drugs, a digital scale, cash, packaging material and drug paraphernalia, affidavits show.

On Aug. 14, authorities said Fisher was indicted in Henry County, Illinois for the murder of Trudy Appleby, 11, who went missing from her Moline home in 1996.

On Aug. 21, 1996, police say Appleby was last seen near her Moline home where witnesses saw her getting into the passenger side of an older model, gray vehicle driven by an unidentified man.

Appleby had asked to go swimming that day on Campbell’s Island but her father had told her no, according to police.

Phone records ‘indicate’ Appleby went ahead with those plans but vanished and is still missing, according to police.

Police say Fisher is a family friend and associate of another suspect in the Appleby case who died in 2014.

In connection to Appleby’s disappearance, Fisher has been charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, and one count of Concealment of a Homicidal Death. He is accused of kidnapping, strangling and killing Appleby, as well as hiding her body.

A statute of limitations precludes kidnapping charges, according to authorities.

Fisher is in custody at Scott County Jail awaiting trial for the drug charges.

On Aug. 28, Fisher pleaded Not Guilty to the drug charges, court records show.

Fisher was in court Oct. 3 where a jury trial was scheduled, court records show.

A status hearing is set for Oct. 14 with final pretrial conferences set for Oct. 29.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 3 and is expected to last four days.

OCT 13 UPDATE: Fisher was extradited by U.S. Marshals from Scott County Jail to Henry County, Illinois on the morning of Oct. 13, jail records show.

This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as they become available.

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