VIDALIA — Sentencing for a Natchez man convicted of killing a Monterey man was postponed Thursday when the defendant’s attorney didn’t show up for court.George Byrd, 28, 422 Dumas Drive, Apt. B, was found guilty in March of the 2014 stabbing death of 63-year-old John Perritt.

Perritt was stabbed nine times with a knife at his Monterey trailer. Days after the homicide, Perritt’s body was found wrapped in blankets on Sept. 22, 2014 by his nephew, who then called the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Though Perritt’s family had shown up for the sentencing, the Seventh Judicial District District Attorney’s office stated defense attorney Darrell Hickman had a scheduling conflict.

Sentencing for Byrd, who was convicted of second-degree murder, was rescheduled for 10 a.m. May 18.

The minimum sentence for second-degree murder in Louisiana is life without benefits.