Trial date for 2 Zizian cult members charged with murder in North Bay attack rescheduled
Published By admin
A Solano County Superior Court judge vacated the October trial for two Zizian cult members, each charged with a November 2022 murder and attempted murder in Vallejo, and reset it for March 3.
Judge John B. Ellis’ decision, after hearing defense attorney requests for a continuance, came Thursday afternoon in Department 22 in Fairfield, where Suri Dao and Alexander Jeffrey Leatham were scheduled for a trial confirmation in advance of their Oct. 21 trial.
When it eventually gets underway, the trial is expected to last five or six weeks, according to court documents.
During the afternoon proceeding in Fairfield, Dao’s attorney, Brian Ford of San Francisco, and Leatham’s attorney, Alternate Public Defender Carol Long, both requested a continuance, saying they needed information from experts to help prepare for their clients’ defense and would not be able to evaluate it until the coming months.
Declaring he was somewhat reluctant to grant the attorneys’ requests, Ellis granted them. He then set some pretrial matters: a readiness conference at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in Department 22 in Fairfield; and motions about admissibility of evidence before a jury hears it, called in “limine motions” in legal parlance, on Jan. 6.
Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro, who leads the prosecution, with DA Investigator Ken Jackson at her side, filed a motion in opposition to the continuance.
Content retrieved from: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/10/04/trial-date-for-zizian-pair-charged-with-murder-rescheduled-for-early-march/.
