Judge Delays Murder Trial After Two Potential Witnesses Stabbed
BOSTON (CBS) – A murder trial in Boston has been delayed after two of the potential witnesses were stabbed.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports
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Four people were stabbed downtown after they left Suffolk Superior Court Wednesday afternoon.
There have been no arrests, but the attack forced Judge Linda Giles to grant a continuance Thursday morning in the murder trial of Kadeem Foreman and Terrell Rainey.
They're charged with first-degree murder in the May 22, 2010 shooting death of Toneika Jones in Dorchester.
In court Thursday, Giles confirmed two of Wednesday's stabbing victims were potential witnesses in the trial.
One suffered a serious colon injury and could be unavailable for awhile, so jury selection was stopped.
The continuance was requested by the prosecution and Foreman's attorney, Michael Doolin.
Giles said she put the trial on hold reluctantly because it could set a dangerous precedent, in that you can attack witnesses to delay a trial.
Rainey's defense attorney, Stephen Weymouth, objected to the delay.
"It's been 25 months. My client is insisting that he's not guilty," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
"Especially when people who know what happened and could be related to one of these murder cases and then suddenly finds out that the murder case has been continued indefinitely, the possibility exists that is a very dangerous precedent."
A spokesperson for the Suffolk District Attorney's Office said there is no evidence the witnesses were targeted.
