Family frustrated by delay in murder trial

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WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- The family of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq allegedly by another serviceman say they are frustrated at the long delay in bringing the case to trial.

Navy Cmdr. Charles Keith Springle was among five people killed in May 2009 at Camp Liberty in Baghdad. The alleged assailant, Sgt. John Russell, has still not faced court-martial, nearly four years after the incident.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have delayed the trial, but the start of Russell's trail had been set for March 11. Now, it's been delayed again until late April.

"There's really no good reason" for the delay, Springle's brother, Tom, told Sunday's Stars and Stripes. "We've waited long enough."

He's betting the court-martial won't start in April, either.

The Springles aren't the only military family waiting for justice.

More than three years after Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly killed 13 people and wounded dozens in a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, a military judge only last week set May 29 for the trial to begin.

At a hearing Thursday, Hasan's attorneys asked for a change of venue. If the judge grants it, the case could be delayed again.