Mitchel Ryan MIller, the man accused of killing two men in the Alsea area in May, appeared for a pretrial hearing in Benton County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

He is accused of killing Shane D. Buckley, 31, and Jesse Dale Reesman, 22, after telling them they all could go dig up a stash of money in the woods near Alsea.

Miller, 19 at the time of the murders, reportedly owed Reesman money for marijuana.

Friends and family members of all three Albany men attended the hearing, though not much occurred.

Benton County Deputy District Attorney Chris Stringer told the court that the case was progressing as expected and that the state is still waiting on forensics test results.

Miller is scheduled to appear in Benton County Circuit Court again on Dec. 14.

At that hearing, Stringer plans to announce whether the state will seek the death penalty, he said, adding that plea negotiations in the case are possible.

Miller was indicted by a grand jury on six counts of aggravated murder; two counts each of murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence; and one count each of first-degree robbery and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Buckley and Reesman were last seen by their families on May 20, when Reesman drove away from his southeast Albany home with a shovel. Reesman's sister received a cell phone call from him a few hours later, telling her only that he was somewhere in the woods and that Miller and Buckley had gone down a trail with the shovel.

He also reportedly said he did not feel safe and that he was going to walk back to where his car was parked. An hour later he called his sister again but the phone went dead right after she asked him where he was.

Reesman's car was found later that night at Takena Landing in Albany.

Miller was arrested a few days later when police found him in a mobile home on property owned by his family members off Fudge Loop Road, south of Alsea. He is being held in the Benton County jail without bail.

Reesman's body was found partially burned under some brush about 200 yards away from the mobile home. He had been shot in the head.

Buckley's body was found more than a week later by a cadaver dog in a wooded area about a mile away. He died as a result of blunt trauma to the back of his head. A shovel with a broken handle, which police said was likely the murder weapon, was found near his body.