SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The defendant in a crossbow slaying case who had already been ordered shackled to the defense table has now been fitted with a mask to prevent him from spitting on his attorneys or court personnel.
Cole Strandberg is on trial to determine if he is sane to face a murder chargel in the 2008 death of Jennifer Bergeron. Her body was found in Strandberg’s apartment and an autopsy found she had been strangled and shot in the head with a crossbow bolt, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Defense attorney Chris Bugbee requested Strandberg wear a spit mask, and Strandberg wore it during Tuesday morning’s hearing. Judge Tari Eitzen previously ordered that Strandberg be shackled to the defense table based on his violent past in jail, where he head butted a psychologist and fractured a guard’s neck.
