Accused Killers of USC Student Appear in Court
Video by Marc Sallinger
Dressed in orange, yellow, and blue prison jumpsuits, the accused killers of USC graduate student Xinran Ji arrived at the Downtown Los Angeles Criminal Justice Center for a preliminary hearing early Friday morning.
The four teenage defendants—Jonathan Del Carmen, 19; Andrew Garcia, 18; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16—are accused of beating 24-year-old Ji to death after allegedly attempting to steal his belongings on July 24. Ji was later found dead in his apartment with a trail of blood leading from the street to his body.
Dozens of USC students and others showed up this morning to voice their support for Ji. Many have pledged to be present at every hearing throughout the trial. Supporters held up signs that read “Justice for Xinran” along with pictures of the 24-year-old outside of the courthouse after the hearing.
Second year USC graduate student Xijie Wang knew of Ji and was present Friday to show his support for the slain student.
“We are both engineering students so I wanted to be here to support him and his family,” said Wang. “We want our school to give us more protection.”
Song Song, also a USC graduate student, lives in the same apartment building that Ji lived in. She says she no longer feels safe on the USC campus.
“We are both international students,” said Song. “I am in his position. I am also worried about my safety, so I think we need to be here and say something so that other people care about this. I am never out by myself at night. That is very scary.”
Rose Tsai, a spokeswoman for the Xinran Ji’s family addressed how thankful Ji’s parents are for the outpour of support among the USC community.
“The parents, after experiencing such trauma of losing their only child, their only hope in their lives, they’re trying to keep themselves strong,” said Tsai. “This is the only consolation to them; the warmth from the country where their son was killed.”
ATVN was not able talk with anyone affiliated with the defendants in the case.
The next court date for this trial is set for Oct. 9 at 8:30 a.m. at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
The next court hearing will be in the same building M30 Judge Renee Korn again (213) 974-6011. Call day before to see what type of hearing is scheduled. October 9, 2014 8:30 a.m. It is the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 210 West Temple St. Los Angeles, CA 90012, not "Folt." More information about two of the defendants in the link above.