Trial date for Bay Area Zizian' pair charged with murder rescheduled for March

"A Solano County Superior Court judge vacated the October trial for two Zizian cult members, each charged with a November 2022 murder and attempted murder in Vallejo, and reset it for March 3. Judge John B. Ellis' decision, after hearing defense attorney requests for a continuance, came Thursday afternoon in Department 22 in Fairfield, where Suri Dao and Alexander Jeffrey Leatham were scheduled for a trial confirmation in advance of their Oct. 21 trial."

"During the afternoon proceeding in Fairfield, Dao's attorney, Brian Ford of San Francisco, and Leatham's attorney, Alternate Public Defender Carol Long, both requested a continuance, saying they needed information from experts to help prepare for their clients' defense and would not be able to evaluate it until the coming months. Declaring he was somewhat reluctant to grant the attorneys' requests, Ellis granted them."

"Thursday's proceeding came on the heels of another judge's ruling to deny defense requests to suppress, or set aside, evidence against Dao and Leatham. Dao, 24, was not present for Thursday's court proceeding, with Ford telling the judge that his client was ill. A transgender 30-year-old woman Leatham, shackled and clad in a striped jail jumpsuit. At one point during the proceeding, Leatham, in a high-pitched voice and reading from a handwritten prepared statement, thanked donors with Leatham's GoFundMe account."

The October trial for two alleged Zizian cult members, Suri Dao and Alexander Jeffrey Leatham, was vacated and rescheduled for March 3 by Judge John B. Ellis. Defense attorneys Brian Ford and Carol Long requested a continuance to obtain and evaluate expert information, and Ellis, despite reluctance, granted the requests. A readiness conference was set for Nov. 13 and in limine motions for Jan. 6. Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro opposed the continuance. Dao was absent due to illness, and Leatham, shackled in a jail jumpsuit, read a prepared statement thanking GoFundMe donors. The trial is expected to last five to six weeks.

Read at www.thereporter.com