Afghan Natives To Testify In Army Sgt.'s Hearing - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Afghan Natives To Testify In Army Sgt.'s Hearing

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JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (AP) - Afghan villagers and soldiers are expected to testify by video from Afghanistan Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday nights in a preliminary hearing of a soldier suspected of killing 16 Afghan civilians during a nighttime rampage last month. 

The witness list against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales for Friday night includes two Afghan National Army guards, two victims and four relatives of victims. 

The 39-year-old Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., could face the death penalty if ultimately convicted of 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder in the March 11 attack in southern Afghanistan. 

A U.S. Army DNA expert testified Thursday that Bales had the blood of at least four people on his clothes and guns when he surrendered.