WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A Feb. 2 trial date is set for a Haysville doctor and his wife who face 34 criminal charges accusing them of running a "pill mill'' linked to at least 56 overdose deaths.

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot in Wichita said Tuesday he had intended to set a November trial for Stephen and Linda Schneider. But he delayed the case after prosecutors said it would overlap with a major trial in Topeka.

Prosecutors said many of their resources would be busy in the retrial of two former Westar Energy executives accused of defrauding the utility. A prosecutor in the Schneider case would be tied up in another trial in Wichita.

While agreeing to the delay, Belot he said he felt that the April 2009 trial date set by another judge would make the Schneiders wait too long to be tried.

The Schneiders remain in custody.
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