Two men facing second-degree murder charges related to a fatal meningitis outbreak will be back in Livingston County court next week.

Barry J. Cadden and Glenn Chin were transported from federal prisons in Pennsylvania and arrived in Livingston County Wednesday night. Cadden, the co-founder of New England Compounding Center, and Chin, who worked there as a pharmacist, were charged earlier this year by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office in connection with 11 deaths in Livingston County. They are both currently serving federal prison sentences for convictions in a separate case related to the 2012 national outbreak.

At least 100 people have died and nearly 1,000 others became ill nationwide because of tainted steroids. The outbreak killed 23 people in Michigan. Investigators connected the compounding pharmacy to Michigan clinics, including Michigan Pain Specialists in Genoa Township, which had dispensed the NECC contaminated steroids.

Next week’s hearings are set for Thursday and Friday and will allow Michigan witnesses to testify. Out of state witnesses will testify at a follow-up hearing in December. Livingston County District Court Judge Shauna Murphy is deciding whether there is enough evidence to bind the case over to Livingston County Circuit Court for trial. (JK)