NEWARK — Alexander Alfaro was escorted into Superior Court at 10:20 a.m., on the first day of his murder trial in which he is charged in the fatal shooting of three college friends and wounding of another in a Newark schoolyard. Alfaro was 16 years old when prosecutors say he and five others set upon the victims behind Mount...
The trial of Alexander Alfaro has begun. He is accused in the killing of three college students in 2007.NEWARK — Alexander Alfaro was escorted into Superior Court at 10:20 a.m., on the first day of his murder trial in which he is charged in the fatal shooting of three college friends and wounding of another in a Newark schoolyard.
Alfaro was 16 years old when prosecutors say he and five others set upon the victims behind Mount Vernon School on the evening of Aug. 4, 2007, in what is being called a gang-related crime.
Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey, both 20, and Terrance Aeriel, 18, were lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head. They died. Terrance’s sister, 19-year-old Natasha Aeriel, was also shot in the head but survived and is expected to testify on Wednesday.
Alfaro, now, 20, is clad in a white shirt, gray slacks and glasses. He has been held in jail since his arrest two weeks after the killing.
Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin said he will allow defense attorney Raymond Morasse to tell the jury during opening statements that other defendants were interviewed by police after their arrest, but cannot get into the content of those statements.
Discussion has taken place with the jury out of the room. The jury is set to be sworn in and opening statements will follow.
Alfaro is accused of slashing Hightower repeatedly with a foot-long machete that night before she was shot. He is charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, along with robbery and weapons offenses.
He is the second defendant to stand trial in this case.
In May, a jury convicted his half-brother, Rodolfo Godinez, 27, who prosecutors called a “principal player” in the crime. Then in September, Melvin Jovel, 21, admitted he shot all four victims. Both were sentenced to life in prison.
The victims were all either enrolled in or planned to attend Delaware State University, and the shooting sparked outrage in the city and around the country.
Previous coverage:
• Opening statements to begin for second suspect in Newark schoolyard slayings
• Trial for second Newark schoolyard shootings suspect is scheduled to begin
• Jury selection begins today for latest Newark schoolyard slaying trial