Man charged with murder of Hadiya Pendleton due in court while awaiting new trial
The man accused of killing 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in 2013 was due back in court on Wednesday for a hearing in his new murder trial.
An honor student at King College Prep High School, Hadiya was shot and killed just days after she marched in former President Obama's second inauguration parade.
In 2023, the Illinois Appellate Court threw out Micheail Ward's conviction for her murder, after ruling his videotaped confession was inadmissible.
During his police interrogation, Ward said he fired at Pendleton and her friends because he thought they were rival gang members and his co-defendant threatened to kill him if he didn't.
Defense attorneys have said police coerced him into giving a false confession.
In throwing out his videotaped confession, appellate judges said Ward repeatedly told detectives during the interrogation that he didn't want to talk to them, but police kept questioning him and obtained his confession in violation of his constitutional rights.
Earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected prosecutors' appeal of that ruling.
Ward, 30, remains in custody as he awaits a new trial. It's unclear if a new trial date will be set on Wednesday.
