PORTLAND — A jury has been seated in the MAX attack trial of a man charged with fatally stabbing two men who authorities say confronted him during a racist rant on a Portland, Oregon, light-rail train.
KOIN reported that Judge Cheryl Albrecht will call members of the juror panel Monday to verify they understand the time commitment and are able to serve for the entirety of the trial of Jeremy Christian. Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday.
Christian has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, assault and other crimes in connection with the 2017 stabbings. Prosecutors say Christian had shouted racist and anti-Muslim slurs at two young, black female passengers, including one who wore a Muslim headscarf.
Christian, 37, is also charged with assault and menacing for shouting slurs and throwing a bottle at a black woman on another light-rail train the day before the stabbings. A judge last year dismissed charges of aggravated murder, a potential death penalty offense, because of a new Oregon law that narrows the definition of aggravated murder.
