After spending more than three years in custody, murder suspect Danny Tharpe is back on the trial docket for allegedly killing and robbing a friend.

Tharpe, 52, of 104 Elizabeth St., was arrested May 19, 2016, a day after Jeff Adams was found unresponsive in his home on Hughes Avenue with a wound to his neck.

Thursday in Clark Circuit Court, Tharpe’s trial was set for Feb. 3, 2020, with a status conference hearing scheduled for Jan. 9, 2020.

Tharpe was last in court in June when his attorney asked for a trial date, but prosecutors said they were still waiting on DNA evidence in the case.

EMS and Winchester Police were called to Adams’ residence at 38 Hughes Ave. on May 18, 2016, after another friend arrived and found Adams unresponsive and lying in a pool of blood. Police said Adams’ neck was cut nearly from ear to ear. Adams was taken to the hospital where he died three days later.

Police arrested Tharpe after they found a bag of bloody clothes from the trash behind a strip mall and Adams’ wallet from a trash can outside Walmart.

Detectives said Tharpe told a number of stories about what happened that day, from going to Adams’ home at 7 a.m. when no one answered. He later said he found the back door open and found Adams lying inside. He said he picked Adams up to try and help, but left without notifying anyone.