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Suspect enters plea in deadly 2006 Kansas fire

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 43-year-old Topeka man who was once convicted of setting a fire that killed a 53-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty in a court-ordered retrial.

Frank Jerome Robinson entered the plea Monday to charges connected to a fire that destroyed an apartment house in 2006, killing 53-year-old Marvina Washington.

He is charged with reckless second-degree murder and aggravated arson. A trial date was not scheduled.

Robinson was convicted in 2009 of reckless second-degree murder and aggravated arson. He was sentenced to 36.5 years in prison.

The Kansas Court of appeals ruled in January that Robinson should receive a new trial because his attorney at the original trial didn’t provide an adequate defense.

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