RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The 18-year-old who pleaded guilty to killing five people in Raleigh in October 2022 will soon learn his fate.
Austin Thompson’s trial for the deadly mass shooting was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 3. However, that date is now the first day of his sentencing phase. That’s because, Thompson and his legal decided to enter a guilty plea for all five murders and some additional charges on Jan. 21 in Wake County.
In the motion, Thompson said he wanted to plead guilty to all charges to spare the community of a trial and inflict more trauma. It goes on to say that by moving straight to the sentencing hearing, he hopes what comes out during sentencing brings peace and as much closure as possible.
The sentencing phase could last up to two weeks.
The five people killed on Oct. 13, 2022 shooting:Nicole Connors, 52Susan Karnatz, 49Mary Marshall, 35Gabriel Torres, 29James Thompson, 16
ABC11 will stream the hearing live here and provide up to the minute updates in this live blog.