Trial delayed for man accused of killing 2 babies in Fresno house fire

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The proceedings of Filimon Hurtado deed a snag successful tribunal connected Monday arsenic the justice conducted a closed-door proceeding related to the jury.

Hurtado is accused of starting a westbound cardinal Fresno location occurrence that killed 2 babies successful 2022.

The justice ordered the media to permission the courtroom arsenic helium and the attorneys dealt with the substance down closed doors.

"Not lone volition the tribunal inquire questions of each of the jurors, but the tribunal would let the attorneys to besides question the jurors to find whether oregon not they've been affected successful immoderate mode and whether oregon not they tin stay just and impartial successful this case," explained Action News Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi.

The closed-door proceeding was expected to past conscionable 25 minutes.

Instead, it went connected for respective hours.

Capozzi says determination could beryllium a big of issues.

"The anticipation successful the greeting was that this would instrumentality conscionable a abbreviated play of time. But then, aft the archetypal juror was questioned, evidently different issues came up," said Capozzi.

The contented yet delayed the grounds defence attorneys planned to contiguous to the jury. They reason Hurtado was insane erstwhile prosecutors accidental helium acceptable a westbound cardinal Fresno location connected occurrence successful May 2022.

The flames killed Hurtado's young niece and nephew and earnestly injured their mother. The assemblage has seen graphic photos.

"This seems to beryllium a precise egregious benignant of lawsuit wherever bodies are burned to wherever they're not identified," said Capozzi.

Hurtado has pleaded not blameworthy by crushed of insanity to 2 counts of murder, and 1 number of attempted execution and arson.

His proceedings has been dilatory from the start. Court documents uncover it was archetypal assigned a proceedings courtroom connected July 1.

At the time, attorneys estimated it would past 4 to six weeks.

But successful August, connected what would've been conscionable the 3rd time of evidence, a juror tested affirmative for COVID.

Within days, respective different jurors tested positive, too, delaying the proceedings for 2 weeks.

"So galore things could hap astatine a proceedings that would lengthen the proceedings for a day, 2 days, sometimes weeks, oregon 2 weeks," said Capozzi.

Defense attorneys inactive person to decorativeness presenting their grounds earlier prosecutors tin connection a rebuttal and some sides tin contiguous their closing arguments to the assemblage that volition soon determine Hurtado's fate.

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