An Edgewater doctor accused of fatally stabbing his wife in a riverside apartment last year will have longer to wait before potentially accessing her estate.

Since September, attorneys on behalf of Nancianne Houston have sought to disqualify her estranged husband, Dr. James Houston, from being a trustee to her assets, arguing he killed her for financial benefit.

In initial hearings, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Elizabeth Morris extended a temporary restraining order blocking the defendant from the estate until after his criminal trial in May. However, the Appellate Court of Maryland reversed and vacated her decision in January, calling the order “indefinite.”

The appellate ruling brought the matter to a different circuit court judge, Richard Trunnell, who found that James Houston “benefiting from the death” would cause “immediate, substantial and irreparable harm” to Nancianne Houston’s estate. An injunction was then put in place Friday barring him from inheriting or receiving any personal or shared property of his wife’s until the civil suit is argued.

A pre-trial conference in the civil case is scheduled for next month, according to the Maryland Judiciary, though attorneys for the estate said a trial date will not be set until the criminal case has been resolved.

“The Court entered an Order which protects an innocent minor who has lost her mother and protects the Estate of her mother and the family who lost their daughter and sister to this horrific event,” attorney Samuel J. Brown wrote in an email.

Brown and Jonathan E. Pasterick are representing Nancianne Houston’s family in multiple suits. Three civil attorneys listed as representing James Houston did not respond to a request for comment.

On Aug. 9, law enforcement officers responded to James Houston’s apartment at the Pier 7 Resort Marina and found the couple, who were in the process of divorcing, lying in a pool of blood, each with serious knife injuries. Nancianne Houston was “immediately pronounced” dead at the scene, police said.

James Houston was taken to a shock trauma center in Baltimore for emergency surgery and placed in an induced coma. He was released less than a week later, but the doctor and retired medical executive was not arrested for more than a month.

Since then, he has faced several legal setbacks. In addition to the fight for his wife’s assets, as of Thursday, James Houston has been denied bail four times, and his in-laws have not only been awarded custody of his school-aged daughter, but they have also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him.

Jail call transcripts submitted in court have shown James Houston’s resentment for his wife’s family, as well as his plans to transfer both his personal and shared assets to an untraceable, overseas bank account before the family has “a chance to get it.”

“If my name’s not on it, I can’t be sued for it,” he was recorded as saying in October.

According to the Maryland Judiciary, Nancianne Houston filed for divorce in March 2023, as part of what police called a “contentious” contest involving millions of dollars. For much of their careers, both spouses were involved in healthcare, she as a sales and corporate accounts manager and he as a pain management and anesthesiology director.

The divorce was filed less than a week after Nancianne Houston filed a protective order against her husband, claiming he had thrown a drink in her face and sent emails to her coworkers accusing her of having an affair with a supervisor.

“James’ behavior is extremely irrational and unhinged and I fear for the safety of my daughter and I,” Nancianne Houston wrote in her petition. “I absolutely do not want to be alone with him.”

Court records show she revoked her request weeks later for unclear reasons.

According to charging documents, despite their issues, the couple had to maintain some form of contact. Police said on the day she was killed, Nancianne Houston went to the Pier 7 apartment to complete overdue tax forms.

Several witnesses told investigators that Nancianne Houston was not interested in reconciling with her husband. One week before her death, she told James Houston that she had started dating someone else, police said.

Initially facing six criminal charges, including three felonies, James Houston will now be tried for first-degree murder and a dangerous weapons offense, court records show.

Defense attorneys John Robinson III and David Putzi are listed as his lawyers, while Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess and Assistant State’s Attorney David Russell will prosecute the case.

The county’s only elected prosecutor, Leitess does not head trials often. But James Houston’s will be her second this year.

Last month, Leitess was the lead prosecutor in the trial of Charles Robert Smith, an Annapolis man accused of fatally shooting three people and injuring three others in a neighborhood dispute that turned deadly. After nearly three weeks of arguments and testimony, a judge declared a mistrial , citing “transgressions” by Leitess, including leading and prejudicial questions.