The trial of the former graduate student charged with murdering a BU professor in December 2009 got underway in a manner of sorts Friday.
46-year old Abdulsalam Alzahrani, a Saudi national, is accused to stabbing to death 77-year old Richard Antoun in the anthropology professor’s office on campus. Although the trial isn’t scheduled to begin until late next month, videotaped testimony was taken today from a former fellow grad student who will soon be moving to New Mexico for a job. John Roby testified for the defense that Alzahrani’s behavior seemed out of character a few months prior to the stabbing. The defense is seeking to show that Alzahrani was suffering from mental illness at the time of the attack.
