Trial date may be set for ex-MCAS daycare worker

A trial for one of the two former employees of the Child Development Center at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma will probably be held some time next year.

During a hearing on Thursday in Yuma County Superior Court, attorney Josh Cordova informed the court that he intends to request a trial date be set for his client at her next appearance.

Cordova represents Katherine McCombs, who has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of intentional child abuse.

He added that McCombs, who resides in California, came back to Yuma for three days last month and they were finally able to review all the disclosure together.

A plea has also been offered in the case, he continued, but his client has not made a decision yet on whether to accept it.

When asked by Superior Court Judge Roger Nelson if the state was prepared for trial, prosecutor Mary White, of the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, answered that it was.

White stated that there were a few matters that still needed to be resolved and that she was in the process of interviewing the witnesses in the case.

“We are actively working on the case,” White said.

After hearing from both counsel, Nelson scheduled McCombs’ next hearing for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5, 2023.

McCombs and Valerie McKinstry were charged in connection to the case following a 10-month investigation into allegations that they abused children on various occasions between December 2020 and March 2021.

MCAS Yuma learned of the alleged abuse in March of 2021 after reviewing surveillance camera footage inside the Child Development Center and informed Yuma police.

McKinstry, who has been charged with 13 counts of intentional child abuse, is scheduled to go to trial in April 2023.