(WSBT) It’s one of Michiana’s most brutal murders, and now an attorney wants the case thrown out of court.

Wednesday morning, Jeff Pelley’s attorney argued the case against his client should be dismissed because he thinks it’s taking too long for the state to take his client to trial.

In 1989, four members of the Pelley family were found shot to death inside their Lakeville home. Although long considered the prime suspect, Jeff Pelley wasn’t arrested for the murders of his father, step-mother, and two step-sisters until 2002.

In May of 2003, the judge in the case ordered Pelley released from the St. Joseph County Jail because he had been held longer than six months without a trial. Since then there have been several delays, and Alan Baum says his client’s right to a speedy trial has been violated.

While typically talkative, Baum didn’t have much to say as he left court Wednesday morning following his conversation with the judge.

“The delay is a problem that the judge is gonna have to wrestle with and make a ruling,” Baum told NEWS22. “So at this point Judge Chamblee has kind of suggested that we all kind of hold off on any comments to the press, and I respect his feeling about that.”

The judge did not make a decision Wednesday on whether to dismiss the case, and he gave no indication on when he might make that decision.

If he doesn’t throw the case out, and there are no other delays, Pelley’s trial is scheduled to begin in July.