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Thursday, 28 March 2024

Defendant in Arbery killing used racial slur -investigator

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Defendant in Arbery killing used racial slur -investigator
Defendant in Arbery killing used racial slur -investigator

**EDITORS NOTE: VIDEO CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE One of the white men charged in the Georgia killing of Ahmaud Arbery allegedly used a racial slur after shooting the unarmed black man, an investigator for the prosecution said in court on Thursday.

Lisa Bernhard has more.

**EDITORS NOTE: VIDEO CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LAUNGUAGE WITH AUDIO BLEEPED OUT In an explosive new allegation, one of the white men charged in the Georgia killing of a black jogger used a racial slur after allegedly murdering the man, an investigator for the prosecution said in court on Thursday.

Special Agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation quoted defendant William Bryan as saying that fellow defendant Travis McMichael uttered the slur after shooting Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed African-American man.

In an open courtroom, the investigator did not hold back when describing that moment, using explicit language.

"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place, before police arrival while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: F****** n*****." The Arbery case triggered a national outcry after cellphone video of the Feb.

23 shooting was leaked on social media.

Thursday's hearing was to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial - the judge ruled there was and sent the case to a superior court for trial.

The hearing follows more than a week of demonstrations across the U.S. over the May 25th death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.

Four officers have been charged in that case.

Special Agent Dial said the three defendants - Bryan, Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael - chased Arbery in pickup trucks and sought to box him in as he was jogging in their neighborhood.

Gregory McMichael and his son Travis are charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels' who took the cellphone video, was charged with felony murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine.

An attorney for Travis McMichael pressed Dial on whether Bryan was promised leniency for possible cooperation with the prosecution when he cited the alleged racial slur.Dial said he was unaware of any such offer.

The three defendants were not charged until more than two months after the shooting.

State police stepped in to investigate after the video was widely seen and local police took no action.

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