Nearly three years after a triple-stabbing on a MAX train plunged Portland into mourning, the man accused in the attack is finally set to stand trial.
Jeremy Christian fatally stabbed Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche after witnesses said he was spouting profanities and racist and anti-Muslim invective at two African American teens, one of whom was wearing a hijab. A third man, Micah Fletcher, survived despite being stabbed in the neck.
Jury selection begins Tuesday, followed by a trial expected to last five weeks. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Aimee Green will be there for it all.
On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Green outlines the arguments Christian’s attorneys could make in his defense despite an abundance of witnesses and video evidence. We also spoke about where this trial fits in recent history, why the jury pool is so vast and whether Christian will testify.
Also on the podcast, The Oregonian’s Shane Dixon Kavanaugh talks about Christian’s troubled background and a past encounter with Fletcher. The Portland natives had met before the fateful day on the MAX, at a protest on 82nd Avenue.
And here’s a link to a one-year retrospective produced by Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and me, where we interviewed 11 people who were on the train May 26, 2017.
You can get keep up with the trial by subscribing to our newsletter at oregonlive.com/newsletters.
-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
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