Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
Trial delayed in Jessup slaying of mental patient
Trial delayed in Jessup slaying of mental patient
Listen to this articleELLICOTT CITY — The trial for a man accused of killing a fellow patient at a state mental hospital has been postponed after the defendant became ill.
Jury selection was to begin Monday in Howard County Circuit Court for the trial of 51-year-old El Soundani El-Wahhabi, also known as Saladin Taylor. He is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of 45-year-old Susan Sachs at Clifton T. Perkins State hospital in Jessup last year.
A spokesman for the Howard County state’s attorney’s office says prosecutors were told El-Wahhabi had been taken to a hospital, but the nature of his illness was not disclosed.
The spokesman says the trial will start Tuesday if El-Wahhabi is well enough.
Court documents state video shows El-Wahhabi entering Sach’s room not long before their bed check.
