SANDPOINT — Barry Brandon Beckford is scheduled to go on trial this month for the murder of his wife in Washington state two decades ago.

A jury trial is slated to start in Yakima County Superior Court on Monday. It’s the sixth trial setting in his case and follows a cascade of pretrial motions.

Beckford was arrested at his home in Vay in January 2015 and charged with the murder of his wife, Deborah Bailey, in 1997. Bailey was found shot to death along a remote road northeast of Naches, Wash.

Beckford, formerly known as Barrett Bailey, was long considered a suspect in his wife’s slaying, although there was insufficient evidence at the time to charge him, according published media accounts.

Beckford, 61, pleaded not guilty and remains held in Washington state while awaiting trial.

Beckford’s arrest coincided the broadcast of “Cold Justice,” a Turner Network Television program which examines unsolved crimes with the consent of law enforcement. Beckford steadfastly denied involvement in his wife’s killing when he was confronted by sheriff’s investigators, a clip of which was included in the episode detailing Bailey’s slaying.

A cloud of suspicion enshrouded Beckford because he allegedly badmouthed Bailey to friends and the couple’s children as a heavy cocaine user who was likely killed over a drug debt. Moreover, Bailey told friends that Beckford was physically and emotionally abusive, and she planned on divorcing him and taking custody of their sons.

Beckford’s case has largely fallen off the media’s radar in Yakima.

Earlier this year, Beckford’s defense counsel filed a series of motions aimed at limiting the amount of information jurors will hear when the case is tried, online court records show. One motion sought to limit evidence related to the television program, Beckford’s character and criminal record.

Judge Michael McCarthy ruled on Feb. 27 that both sides are prohibited from raising drug and sex issues during open arguments, although testimony on those subject could be ruled upon outside the presence of jurors.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.