Deliberations stretch to day 5 in murder trial

Deliberations in the trial of a man accused of killing a family of four in 2005 will stretch into a fifth day. Edward McDonald is one of two men accused in the murders of Hassam Armanious, his wife Amal

News 12 Staff

Mar 11, 2008, 10:20 PM

Updated 5,886 days ago

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Deliberations stretch to day 5 in murder trial
Deliberations in the trial of a man accused of killing a family of four in 2005 will stretch into a fifth day.
Edward McDonald is one of two men accused in the murders of Hassam Armanious, his wife Amal and their daughters, 16-year-old Sylvia and 9-year-old Monica. Prosecutors say robbery was the motive for the murders. The jury has to decide if McDonald is guilty of murdering each of the four family members by his own hands.
During the trial, jurors watched a videotaped confession given by McDonald. However, the defense argued the confession was coerced.
McDonald lived upstairs from the Egyptian family. In the taped confession, McDonald admitted to killing Monica during the robbery. However, he says his accomplice, Hamlet Sanchez, killed the rest of the family.
The Armanious killings would have been a capital murder case had New Jersey not abolished the death penalty. Now, if convicted, McDonald could face life in prison without parole. Meanwhile, Sanchez?s trial will begin when McDonald?s is complete.
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