Just down the hall from each other, there were major developments in two Alexandria murder trials on April 23.
Charles Severance, accused of three murders in Alexandria, was granted a change of venue to Fairfax for his October trial by Judge Jane Marum Roush. The defense argued that a “fear factor” in the local community made it impossible to find an impartial jury.
Meanwhile, the third day of deliberations on the trial of Dawit Seyoum, charged with the murder of Carolyn Cross, a deputy corrections director for D.C., ended in a mistrial. The jury was unable to decide whether Seyoum was guilty of murder or not guilty by reason of insanity. Retrial for the case has been set for April 30.