BOND COUNTY — A former youth director at a Mt. Vernon church charged in Bond County with the murder of her 70-year-old boyfriend in Sorento is scheduled for possible plea negotiations in court Wednesday.

Wendy Denzler, 41, is accused of shooting Richard R. Blake on June 11. Denzler is charged in Bond County court with five counts of first degree murder, one count of second degree murder and a count of obstructing justice.

Denzler, who had apparently moved to Sorento shortly before his death, had been the youth director at West Salem Trinity United Methodist in Mt. Vernon.

She’s scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for possible plea negotiations in the case. If a plea agreement isn’t reached then Denzler is tentatively scheduled to be tried before a jury September 23.

According to the Bond County Sheriff’s Office, they received a late morning report on Tuesday, June 11, of a suicide involving a firearm. Following a three-day investigation into the reported suicide, Denzler was taken into custody

Prosecutors alleged Denzler shot Blake in the head with a handgun and then lied to investigating deputies when she told them Blake had committed suicide.