George Zimmerman Trial Live Updates: Opening Statements In Murder Trial

More than a year after the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin sparked controversy across the country, prosecution and defense lawyers will finally get to outline their cases to a Florida jury.

Opening statements are set for Monday morning in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial. The proceedings start following a marathon nine days of jury selection to find objective candidates who had not already formed an opinion about Zimmerman's guilt or innocence.

Zimmerman, 29, shot and killed Martin as the unarmed teen was walking back to the home of his father's fiancee from a Sanford, Fla., convenience store with a bag of candy on the night of Feb. 26, 2012.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty in Martin's slaying.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES

Jury selection in Zimmerman’s trial concluded Thursday, with a panel of six female jurors chosen to decide his fate. The jurors and four alternates were sequestered at an unknown location over the weekend in order to eliminate the possibility of their exposure to outside influences.

Monday's opening statements in Seminole County Circuit Court will preview the essence of the trial.

Defense attorneys Mark O'Mara and Don West are representing Zimmerman, and the lead prosecutor for the state of Florida is Bernie de la Rionda.

Zimmerman's attorneys claim he acted in self-defense when he was attacked by Martin while on a neighborhood watch patrol. The prosecution will likely suggest Zimmerman, who is Hispanic-American, profiled and murdered Martin.

The defense has not yet decided if Zimmerman will take the stand. That decision will likely be made after the prosecution presents its case.

The long-awaited proceedings have piqued the interest of the nation and fed a national debate about racism, self-defense laws and gun control.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CASE TIMELINE

The trial, before Circuit Judge Debra Nelson in Seminole County, is expected to last more than a month. During that time, both sides will try to convince the jury of their version of the events of Feb. 26, 2012.

If convicted, Zimmerman could face a possible sentence of life in prison.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. EST.

George Zimmerman Trial Live Updates: Jury Selection Reveals Interesting Cast Of Characters

Jury selection in George Zimmerman's murder trial resumes in Florida on Friday, following four days of interviews with an interesting mix of candidates. The potential jurors have varied in age, race and education, as well as in personal and religious beliefs. Court watchers have seen a broad spectrum of prospects. Some were undecided and open-minded, while others were candid -- and occasionally bizarre. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES The most notable include: An apparent transplant from the 1800s who referred to Trayvon Martin as "a boy of color." A young landscaper who said, "I'm not a person who really cares about other people." A local resident and "Law & Order" junkie who was disappointed the shooting happened in her town: "This really didn't need to happen in Sanford." A young arm-wrestler, and apparent conspiracy theorist, who remembers the shooting because it happened the same day he did his first one-armed pull-up. "I have a dark view of the media ... I don't want to be brainwashed," he said. A middle-aged female who is married to a retired police officer, gets her news from AOL, and believes in the right to carry arms. "I think he was just defending himself ... I consider myself better educated. My opinion is pretty firm," she said. A Hispanic man who said Zimmerman is guilty because he broke God's law: "The 10 Commandments say don't kill." A member of a pro-Travyon Martin Facebook group who was apparently caught trying to sneak his way onto the jury. A potential juror who said he gets his news from Fark, a partner of HuffPost Weird News. Since Monday, 24 potential jurors have made it through questioning about pretrial publicity. Eighty-five others, from an initial pool of 500 Sanford-area residents, have been deemed unsuitable to sit on the jury. CLICK HERE FOR THE CASE TIMELINE Zimmerman, 29, stands charged in the death of 17-year-old Martin. Zimmerman shot and killed Martin as the teen was walking from a Sanford convenience store to the home of his father's fiancee on Feb. 26, 2012. Defense attorneys argue that Martin attacked Zimmerman, who acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have deemed Martin's death an instance of second-degree murder. If the first four days of jury selection are any indication, day five should be equally interesting. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9:00 a.m. EST.

Watch George Zimmerman Trial Live Updates: Jury Selection Begins

Jury selection starts Monday in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial in Florida. Zimmerman is back in court more than 15 months after he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The trial, before Circuit Judge Debra Nelson in Seminole County, is expected to last more than a month. Nelson previously ruled that jurors' faces will not be shown by the media, and they will be referred to by number only. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES Zimmerman shot and killed Martin as the teen was walking back to the home of his father's fiancee from a Sanford, Fla., convenience store with a bag of candy on the night of Feb. 26, 2012. Defense attorneys argue that Zimmerman, then 28, was attacked by Martin while serving as a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman's camp contends that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic-American, acted in self-defense when he shot the African-American teen in the chest at point-blank range. Prosecutors have deemed Martin's death an instance of second-degree murder. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara is representing Zimmerman, and the lead prosecutor for the state of Florida is Bernie de la Rionda. CLICK HERE FOR THE CASE TIMELINE

The defense has not yet decided if Zimmerman will take the stand. That decision will likely be made after the prosecution presents its case. He faces life in prison if found guilty. The trial is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. EST.

George Zimmerman Trial Live Updates: Jury Selection Begins

Jury selection starts Monday in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial in Florida.

Zimmerman is back in court more than 15 months after he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The trial, before Circuit Judge Debra Nelson in Seminole County, is expected to last more than a month.

Nelson previously ruled that jurors' faces will not be shown by the media, and they will be referred to by number only.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES

Zimmerman shot and killed Martin as the teen was walking back to the home of his father's fiancee from a Sanford, Fla., convenience store with a bag of candy on the night of Feb. 26, 2012.

Defense attorneys argue that Zimmerman, then 28, was attacked by Martin while serving as a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman's camp contends that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic-American, acted in self-defense when he shot the African-American teen in the chest at point-blank range. Prosecutors have deemed Martin's death an instance of second-degree murder.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara is representing Zimmerman, and the lead prosecutor for the state of Florida is Bernie de la Rionda.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CASE TIMELINE

The defense has not yet decided if Zimmerman will take the stand. That decision will likely be made after the prosecution presents its case.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

The trial is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. EST.

Military Recruiter Murder-Suicide: Staff Sgt. Adam Arndt Shot High School Senior Michelle Miller Before Killing Himself

WASHINGTON — A military recruiter who police say fatally shot a teenage girl he signed up for the Army Reserves before committing suicide was a nine-year veteran who had served overseas, the Army said Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Adam Arndt, 31, was found dead of a gunshot wound Monday morning inside his Germantown, Md., home. Also dead was Michelle Miller, 17, a senior at Rockville High School. Police believe Arndt fatally shot Miller, who was signed up to enter the Army Reserves after graduation, before killing himself. A handgun was found at the home, police said.

Miller's father, Kevin Miller, told The Associated Press on Monday night that he had not met Arndt but that his daughter had seemed "a little smitten with this guy." He said she met him about four or five months ago.

Kevin Miller said his daughter left their Rockville home Sunday night, saying somebody in her platoon was suicidal. He said she stopped responding to his calls and text messages.

Army recruiters are barred from fraternizing with recruits, a restriction that includes dating, inviting recruits to their homes or having any kind of personal relationship that would place undue influence on a recruit, said Kathleen Welker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command.

Arndt, a native of Manitowoc, Wis., joined the Army in October 2003. He was deployed to Turkey from September 2009 to September 2010, and his decorations include a medal for service in the global war on terrorism. He has also served in Korea and Germany, according to personnel records released by the Army.

He was working as a human resources specialist before he was detailed in January 2011 to the recruiting office in Columbia, Md., Welker said. Such assignments typically last three years, after which soldiers can decide whether to become permanent recruiters or return to their previous occupations.

His duties would have included visiting schools, Welker said, although it was not clear Tuesday whether he had visited Rockville High School. The investigation remains active and is focused on "determining how these two people died," said Capt. Paul Starks, a Montgomery County police spokesman.

Dana Tofig, a county schools spokesman, said military recruiters routinely visit the county's schools. The school system's focus, he said, was helping those who knew Miller. Grief counselors were visiting her classmates on Tuesday.

Tom Clements Dead: Colorado Department Of Corrections Chief Shot At Home, Gunman On The Run

MONUMENT, Colo. — The executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections was shot and killed when he answered the front door of his house, and police are searching for the gunman and trying to figure out if it had anything to do with his position.
Tom Clements was shot around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in Monument, north of Colorado Springs, said Lt. Jeff Kramer, of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Kramer said investigators have not ruled anything out, but it could have been related to his job.
"As the director of the Department of Corrections or any similar type position, it could in fact open someone up to be a target of a crime such as this. Although we remain sensitive to that, we also want to make sure that we remain open-minded to other possibilities as well," Kramer said.
A family member called 911 to report the shooting and officers found Clements, 58, dead. Search dogs have been called in to comb through a wooded area around Clements' home, and authorities were going house to house trying to find out what neighbors heard and saw.
Clements lived in a wooded neighborhood of large, two-story houses on expansive 2-acre lots dotted with evergreen trees in an area known as the Black Forest. Long driveways connect the homes to narrow, winding roads that thread the hills. Clements' home was out of view, behind a barricaded of crime-scene tape in the road.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Clements to the post in 2011 after he served for more than three decades in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He replaced Ari Zavaras, a former Denver police chief who led the department under two governors. The department operates 20 adult prisons and a juvenile detainment system.
After Clements was appointed, Hickenlooper praised Clements for his approach to incarceration, saying Clements relied on proven methods to improve prison safety inside and programs that have been shown to improve successful outcomes after offenders are released from prison.

In a statement released early Wednesday and sent to department employees, Hickenlooper said he was in disbelief over the killing.       

As your executive director, he helped change and improve (the department) in two years more than most people could do in eight years. He was unfailingly kind and thoughtful, and sought the `good' in any situation. I am so sad. I have never worked with a better person than Tom, and I can't imagine our team without him," Hickenlooper said.
While Clements generally kept a low profile, his killing comes a week after Clements denied a Saudi national prisoner's request to be sent to his home country to serve out his sentence. Homaidan al-Turki was convicted of sexually assaulting a housekeeper and keeping her as a virtual slave. Clements said state law requires sex offenders to undergo treatment while in prison and that al-Turki had declined to participate.
The governor said he's awaiting further details on the killing but called a news conference for Wednesday morning.
Hickenlooper ordered flags lowered to half-staff at public buildings until the day after Clements' funeral. Arrangements are pending.
Clements is survived by his wife, Lisa, and two daughters, Rachel and Sara. Hickenlooper asked the public to respect their privacy.
Clements worked for 31 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, both in prisons as well as probation and parole services. He received a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Missouri.
Government leaders in Missouri are mourning the loss. Clements was the former director of Adult Institutions for the Missouri Corrections Department and had been with the Missouri department since 1979.
George Lombardi, director of Missouri's Department of Corrections, said Clements was "just a very good, decent person."
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said in an emailed statement that Clements "dedicated his professional life and his considerable skills to public service and protection, and the citizens of Missouri join the people of Colorado in mourning this tremendous loss."

Central Fla. student plotted attack on other students, then changed mind and committed suicide

 

ORLANDO, Fla. –  Authorities say a University of Central Florida student who pulled a dorm fire alarm in the middle of the night had a more sinister plan than sending students scurrying out into the night.

Campus police said Monday that 30-year-old James Oliver Seevakumaran was armed with two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a backpack filled with explosives and a plan to attack other students as they fled the seven-story dorm where he lived.
His plans were thrown off by campus police officers' quick response to the fire alarm and a 911 call from Seevakumaran's roommate who had holed himself in a bathroom after Seevakumaran pointed a gun at him.
Police officers found Seevakumaran dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his dorm room. No other students were hurt