The prosecution has provided the defense with all available evidence in the case of a case of a man suspected of killing his housemate and setting the home on fire last year.

Sean Alexander Birge, 29, appeared in Warren Circuit Court Monday for a pretrial conference in a case in which he is charged with murder, first-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.

Birge is accused of causing the death of Wendell Leon Reynolds Jr., 45, of Bowling Green.

Reynolds’ body was found Feb. 20 in the rental house at 678 Penns Chapel Road where he lived, after firefighters were dispatched there to put out a fire that engulfed the residence.

Birge’s court-appointed attorney, Jeb Dennis of the Department of Public Advocacy, said during Monday’s hearing that he was confident he had received all discovery evidence the Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has amassed in the case, and that he and Birge’s co-counsel, Kayla Fugate of the DPA, have begun reviewing the evidence.

Dennis said he and Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kori Beck Bumgarner have begun “preliminary negotiations” and requested another pretrial conference to help determine whether the case could be resolved with a trial or a plea agreement.

“I think this case is progressing rather quickly given the serious nature of these charges,” Dennis said. “There haven’t been any speed bumps.”

Warren Circuit Judge J.B. Hines set another court date for April 15.

Reynolds’ death was investigated by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

The Richardsville Volunteer Fire Department was the first agency to respond to the fire in the early morning hours of Feb. 20.

By daybreak, the sheriff’s office, Kentucky State Police and other agencies had arrived at the scene.

Reynolds’ body was found in the back bedroom on a mattress, with a crowbar and a gasoline can lying nearby, according to testimony given in March by WCSO Detective Nick Jewell during a preliminary hearing in Warren District Court.

Jewell testified at that hearing last year that Reynolds was struck multiple times with a hammer, and that an autopsy found at least 22 wounds on the back of Reynolds’ head and two puncture wounds to his skill.

Birge was established as a person of interest by law enforcement who interviewed neighbors and other witnesses, and on the afternoon of Feb. 20, Jewell was informed by a dispatcher that Birge had checked into T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow that day, reportedly due to chest pains.

Jewell traveled to the hospital to speak with Birge.

“He gave me a timeline of where he was, what he was doing and he was already aware that the victim had passed away,” Jewell testified in March.

Birge claimed to have left the house late the previous night, traveled to Glasgow and returned to Bowling Green.

Jewell said law enforcement later heard from a friend of Birge’s who claimed that Birge had left his cell phone with him the night before the fire, reporting that Birge said he planned to “ ‘accidentally’ leave” the phone with him and that “there were a few things he had to do.”

Investigators then learned that Birge was working and living in Clarksville, and he agreed on Feb. 23 to be interviewed by Jewell.

“By the end of the interview, Sean had confessed to killing Wendell Reynolds with a hammer,” Jewell testified in March.

Investigators determined that lighter fluid was poured near the front door of the house and ignited, starting the fire, Jewell said.

Birge is alleged to have thrown the hammer into a river. He is being held without bond in Warren County Regional Jail.