The trial of two men charged with murdering 21-year-old Tekle Mallory outside the Ice Queen Restaurant last year has been pushed back - possibly until next year.

Quincy Stanley Brangman, 22, and Everett Jahnai Bean, 19, were set to stand trial in Supreme Court yesterday, but the trial was adjourned because of complications with Brangman's defence counsel.

The Crown decided it was in the interests of justice to adjourn the case after Brangman's defence attorney Michael Scott said the Queen's Counsel he had been instructing was unable to prepare for yesterday's trial.

Mr. Scott told the court that while he had made "rapid adjustments" by securing another Queen's Counsel, who would be available between August 19 and the end of September.

In complex cases, defendants have the right to be represented by a Queen's Counsel and both Brangman and Bean have elected the option for this trial.

Brangman of Cook's Hill, Smith's and Bean of Jones' Village, Warwick will be arraigned on August 5 and Chief Justice Austin Ward said the courts would try to get an early a trial date.

However, earlier, Crown counsel Juan Wolffe stressed that it would be difficult to gather all 35 to 40 witnesses, some of whom are overseas, to try the case in the next few months.

"Getting witnesses together for this day was a task in and of itself," he said. "They were all intending to be here today and hold for the next three weeks for the trial if need be.

"It is quite possible that we may not be able to get the witnesses together until the early part of next year, meaning January, 2003."

And he said he was unable to try the case in September because he will be off the Island.

Bean's defence lawyer, Elizabeth Christopher, said she was very disturbed by the adjournment while she appreciated that there were other matters to be dealt with. And she said she had another trial to deal with in September with three defendants.

"I would hate to see September go by and neither murder case is tried," she said. "My client wishes to get this matter over with."

Mr. Mallory was found dead in a pool of blood in the parking lot of Paget Ice Queen on July 21, 2001.