Suspects in Ahmaud Arbery murder request he not be called 'victim' during trial
BRUNSWICK, Ga. - The suspects in the Ahmaud Arbery murder case have made several requests ahead of the trial, including not referring to Arbery as "victim"
Defense attorneys for Travis and Greg McMichael, the father and son duo charged with killing Arbery, filed new motions ahead of the trial, according to TMZ.
As part of the motions, the attorneys are asking that only one photograph of Arbery while he was alive be permitted at trial and that the photo shows him alone- without any family or friends.
The defense is also asking that no family members of Arbery's be able to identify him in court - instead requesting that action be done by an unrelated, third-party witness.
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The attorneys argue that too many photos of Arbery will create a jury bias.
Along with those motions, the defense says it doesn't want Arbery's family to testify due to possible emotional outbursts that might affect the jurors.
Arbery was fatally shot on Feb. 23 when the McMichaels armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man running in their neighborhood. More than two months passed before the two men were charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Arrests came after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local prosecutors.
Ahmaud Arbery
Read more about the Ahmaud Arbery case
At a hearing earlier in 2020 to determine whether there was enough evidence to proceed with a murder trial, the lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent in the case testified that the McMichaels and a third man in another pickup, William "Roddie" Bryan, used their trucks to chase down and box in Arbery, who repeatedly reversed directions and ran into a ditch while trying to escape.
Travis McMichael then got out of his truck and confronted Arbery, later telling police he shot him in self-defense after Arbery refused his order to get on the ground, GBI agent Richard Dial said. He said a close examination of the video of the shooting shows the first shot was to Arbery’s chest, the second was to his hand, and the third hit his chest again before he collapsed in the road in a subdivision in the port town of Brunswick.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.