The woman charged in the murder of a Bradley, Illinois, police officer waited five years for her murder case to go on trial, and on Friday, it came within a few words of being delayed until 2027. The judge could have declared a mistrial on the first day after the Kankakee County State’s Attorney accused Xandria Harris’ attorney of violating a judge’s gag order.
The judge, however, pressed on with opening arguments in the trial, which will focus on the role the 30-year-old mother of four played in a December 2021 incident at a Bradley hotel that left Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic dead and Sgt. Tyler Bailey severely wounded.
Harris is accused of helping her boyfriend, Darius Sullivan, shoot his way out of an encounter with police.
In their opening statement prosecutors said, “When you knowingly aid and abet a crime, when you help it happen…you legally become responsible for what happens.”
If you help it continue, States Attorney Jim Rowe said, “You own it. This defendant owns it.”
Harris’ attorney asked the jury to put themselves in Harris’ place.
”She is not simply the girlfriend of a disgusting murderer,” the attorney. “She was controlled and conditioned…and that brought her to one of the most unimaginable nights this county has seen.”
Before the trial got underway at the Kankakee County Courthouse, civil rights activist John C. Barnett said Harris should be released.
“I do believe she did not pull that trigger,” he said. “She didn’t set this thing up and she definitely didn’t call the police.”
Harris’ mother also complained that her daughter was being unfairly prosecuted.
“I feel it’s unfair what she is going through,” Gloria Harris said. “It’s unfair what we have been going through here, and it’s been a lot.”
Sullivan was convicted of murder in a previous trial, and he is currently serving a mandatory life sentence. Harris is facing a similar sentence.
The trial, which will include hours of police bodycam video, is expected to last three weeks.
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