Crime & Safety
Hadiya Pendleton: Murder Trial Starts In Teen's Death
Two men are charged in the death of the 15-year-old, shot in the back days after performing at an Obama inaugural event.
CHICAGO, IL — Two men are standing trial in the 2013 shooting death of a 15-year-old Chicago student just days after she performed with her high school band at then-President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities.
Separate juries have been selected to hear the cases against Micheail Ward and Kenneth Williams in the death of Hadiya Pendleton. Opening statements begin Tuesday.
Pendleton was with friends at a park 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from Obama's Chicago home when she was shot in what prosecutors say was a botched attempt at gang retaliation. Prosecutors say the then-18-year-old Ward was the gunman and that Williams, who was 20, was the getaway driver.
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Lawyers for the suspects have called the state's evidence deeply flawed and note that no physical evidence ties either defendant to the shooting.
Photos: A mourner holds up a funeral program for Hadiya Pendleton outside the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church during the Feb. 9, 2013, funeral service (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)/Kenneth Williams, left, and Micheail Ward (Cook County Sheriff's Office via AP)
