Trial In Death Of Bowie State Student, Army Officer, Begins

BOWIE, MD — After multiple delays, the first-degree murder and hate crime trial of Sean Urbanski will begin this week. Jury selection is scheduled for Monday. Urbanski is accused of killing Richard Collins III, 23, a black Bowie State University student and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, in cold blood. Collins had been waiting for an Uber after visiting friends on campus on May 20, 2017.

Police arrested Urbanski at the bus stop, not far from where Collins was dying, NBC 4 reports. After fatally stabbing Collins, Urbanski folded the knife, slipped it into his pocket and sat down on a bench until police arrived.

According to a report by WTOP, key questions jurors will consider are whether Urbanski intended to murder Collins and whether the motivation for the killing was Collins’ skin color.

Prince George's County prosecutors will also argue Collins' killing was a hate crime carried out by a man biased against black people. Urbanski liked a Facebook group called "Alt-Reich: Nation" and saved at least six photographs of racist memes on his phone, according to prosecutors, NBC 4 reports.

Meanwhile, his lawyers argue that the images are unfair, and have called them "particularly offensive, extremely prejudicial, highly inflammatory, irrelevant, and not otherwise admissable," Urbanski's lawyers instead hope to put forward the theory that alcohol and substance abuse was possibly to blame, according to WTOP.

The TV station reports that jurors will also be able to consider second-degree murder or manslaughter charges. In addition, after evidence and testimony is complete, the defense can argue the jury should also be able to consider involuntary manslaughter. A not guilty verdict is not an option in the case.

In Maryland, the maximum penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is life in prison with without the chance of parole. The top sentence for the state charge of hate crime resulting in death is 20 years.

Read the full story at WTOP-TV.

SEE ALSO:

• Prosecutors Won't Seek Death For UMD Hate Crime Defendant: Report
• UMD Hate Crime Defendant Wants 'Offensive' Images Barred: Report
• UMD Hate Crime Trial Delayed Again: Report