CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on the trial in the killing of a Chicago teenager days after she participated in then-President Barack Obama’s inaugural festivities (all times local):
6:20 p.m.
The parents of the high school honor student gunned down five years ago in a Chicago park bowed their heads as a jury delivered the guilty verdict against the man accused of pulling the trigger.
Twenty-four-year-old Micheail Ward showed no reaction as the court clerk read off a guilty verdict for first-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton.
Afterward, an emotional Nathaniel Pendleton said the verdict was something he and his family has been waiting for, adding the two men convicted “got what they deserved.”
A separate jury on Wednesday found 25-year-old Kenneth Williams guilty of being the getaway driver in the crime.
Hadiya Pendleton was killed just over a week after she returned from Washington, where she had performed as a majorette with her high school band at President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities. She was murdered in a park on the South Side of Chicago not far from the Obama’s Chicago home.
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5:10 p.m.
A jury has found a suspected gang member guilty of murder in the death of a 15-year-old honor student who had just returned to Chicago from performing at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
Micheail Ward, 18 at the time, was found guilty Thursday of firing the fatal shot that struck Hadiya Pendleton. A separate jury had found Kenneth Williams, the man accused of driving the getaway call, guilty on Wednesday of first degree murder.
Ward testified that he was ordered to fire on a group of young people, including Pendleton, whom he believed were members of a rival gang.
Pendleton’s death came to symbolize gun violence in Chicago because of the girl’s own history and her connection to the president of the United States and the first lady.
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4:40 p.m.
A jury has reached a verdict in the case of a man charged with fatally shooting a 15-year-old Chicago honor student in 2013.
The court announced that the jury had reached a verdict at Tuesday afternoon about 3 ½ hours after it began deliberations and that the verdict would be read in court after 5 p.m.
Micheail Ward is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Hadiya Pendleton. She was killed just over a week after she returned from Washington, where she had performed as a majorette with her high school band at President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities. She was shot in the back while talking with friends in a park on the South Side of Chicago not far from the Obama’s Chicago home.
On Thursday, prosecutors in closing arguments told jurors that there was overwhelming evidence that Ward shot and killed the teen when he opened fire on a group of people he mistook for members of a rival gang.
Another jury on Wednesday found Kenneth Williams guilty of first-degree murder after determining that he was Ward’s getaway driver on the day of the shooting.
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1:25 p.m.
A jury will now decide the fate of the man charged with fatally shooting a 15-year-old Chicago honor student just days after she performed with her high school band at President Barack Obama’s 2013 inaugural festivities.
Prosecutors and attorneys representing Micheail Ward completed their closing arguments Thursday afternoon in a Chicago courtroom.
Prosecutors told jurors that they had overwhelming evidence against Ward in the shooting of Hadiya Pendleton, including a videotaped confession that Ward gave detectives.
But one of Ward’s attorneys suggested he was framed by detectives who were under intense pressure to solve a slaying that Obama discussed during his 2013 State of the Union address.
Ward’s co-defendant, Kenneth Williams, was found guilty Wednesday by a separate jury of charges including first-degree murder. He was accused of being the getaway driver.
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11:35 a.m.
Attorneys are making closing arguments in the trial of a man prosecutors say shot and killed a 15-year-old high school honor student who became a national symbol of Chicago gun violence.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations later Thursday in the case of Micheail Ward, who is accused of shooting Hadiya Pendleton as she and several other students visited a park at the end of a school day in 2013. He declined to testify on his own behalf, while his lawyers have noted that no physical evidence ties him to the shooting.
Pendleton died just days after she performed as a majorette with her high school band at President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities.
Ward’s co-defendant, Kenneth Williams, was found guilty Wednesday of charges including first-degree murder. He was accused of being the getaway driver. Two separate juries were empaneled to hear the cases against the men.
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6:55 a.m.
A jury could soon get the case of a man who prosecutors say shot and killed a 15-year-old high school honor student who became a national symbol of Chicago gun violence.
Closing arguments are planned Thursday in the case of Micheail Ward, who is accused of shooting Hadiya Pendleton as she and several other students visited a park at the end of a school day in 2013. He declined to testify on his own behalf.
Pendleton died just days after she performed as a majorette with her high school band at President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities.
Ward’s co-defendant, Kenneth Williams, was found guilty Wednesday of charges including first-degree murder. He was accused of being the getaway driver. Two separate juries were empaneled to hear the cases against the men.
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