There was only an outside chance Ronald Martin Jr. would stand trial for murder in 2025. Friday, the question was put to rest: attorneys moved his case into the new year.

Martin, 45, of Sheridan appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered not-guilty pleas to new charges, including armed robbery, residential arson and possession of a weapon.

Typically, trial dates are set during arraignment, but attorneys Friday signaled they are not ready to proceed on the superseding counts of first-degree murder for the July 17 shooting deaths of Sidney Schiltz and Melissa Vissman.

Martin’s lawyer, Chicago defense attorney William Wolf, acknowledged in open court the receipt of electronic records he must sift through, “and it’s my understanding there’s a lot more to come.”

Wolf and La Salle County prosecutors agreed to a status hearing 60 days out. Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni agreed and set a new hearing Friday, Jan. 23.

Rarely, however, do murder cases proceed to trial in the first year and double murder cases are even more complex and time-consuming.

Details are still emerging. It is known that first-responders raced on July 17 to a residential fire in rural Sheridan, where two bodies were found shot to death. According to court records, eyewitnesses said Martin entered the rural Sheridan residence and fired a 9-mm pistol at both victims. Prosecutors have suggested a drug deal gone bad.

On Nov. 4, a La Salle County grand jury indicted Martin on new charges alleging he set the fire and made off with a safe from the residence.

The arson and robbery charges are Class X felonies carrying up to 30 years, but two murder convictions would send him to prison for the rest of his life. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011, but killing two or more people is punishable by automatic natural life.