Accused killer Matthew Maxson won't have to give prosecutors a blood sample until at least September 18, because his lawyer failed to show up for a hearing on the issue Monday in Oswego.

Maxson's lawyer may not have been there, but family and friends of murder victim Diana Cooper were on hand, keeping a vigil.

Matt Maxson, 18, of High Street, Lockport, NY, has been accused of murder in the May 24 death of Diana M. Cooper in her West Second Street apartment in the City of Fulton.

Maxson was in Judge John Elliot's Oswego County Court Room Monday morning but his attorney, Emil Rossi, never made it. Rossi and Prosecutor Donald Dodd were to have argued the reason for and against forcing Maxson to give a blood sample.

Judge Elliot noted that Rossi had not responded to the request and was not in court with the defendant, who sat alone in restraints at the back of the courtroom while a sheriff's deputy stood nearby.

The judge rescheduled the matter for September 18, "in the event the defendant's council has any response to the request." Then, he sent Maxson back to jail and ended the court session.

Members of the victim's family filed out of the court room first. They lined both sides of the hallway, as Dodd explained in more detail what had just transpired in the courtroom.

"It's a long, detailed process," Dodd said. "Right now we're in a hurry up and wait mode." He told the victim's family that most of the rest of the preliminary proceedings would probably continue to be held in the small first floor courtroom they had just exited.

But if the matter goes to trial it will either be held in the court room at the public safety center, Dodd said, or in the larger courtroom on the second floor of the Oswego County Courthouse on East Oneida Street.

As Dodd finished speaking to the victim's family the sheriff's deputy escorted Maxson out of the courtroom. The family was silent and gazed at the floor as Maxson shuffled between them with the deputy behind him. The silence continued as the pair passed down the hallway and out the door to the waiting police vehicle for the ride back to the public safety center.

The family waited a few minutes and then they exited the courthouse.

"It's our own idea to be here, not the district attorney's office," said Kathy Emmons, who is Diana Cooper's niece and identified herself as the family's spokesperson. She and her daughter Jennifer accompanied Kimberly McMillan and April Searor, Diana Cooper's daughters, and Mick Kidd, Ms. Cooper's fiance. Sue Diesing, a friend of the family was also there to lend support.

"We're trying to attend all the proceedings from now on," Kidd said.

"Her two sisters would have been here," Emmons said. "But their health has taken a downhill slide since all of this has happened, due to the stress.

"There are about eight nieces or nephews," Emmons continued. "We would all be here if we didn't have to work."

The victim's family wants to see the case through to the end. They're hoping for a satisfactory resolution, Emmons said, but she declined to comment further.