ROCKY MOUNT, Va. (AP) — A judge hearing a lawsuit filed by the families of two students slain in the mass shootings at Virginia Tech has denied a motion to conduct separate trials.
The Roanoke Times reports Franklin County Circuit Judge William Alexander rejected a defense motion Friday in the lawsuits filed by the families of students Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde.
The families claim the state, Virginia Tech and university and mental health officials were grossly negligent. Their $10 million lawsuits also name the estate of Seung-Hui Cho (sung-wee joh), the student gunman who killed 32 people before taking his own life in April 2007.
Alexander is scheduled to preside over a jury trial that's set to begin Sept. 26 in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christiansburg.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoketimes.com
