Attorneys present jurors with dueling portraits of Arbery

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented dueling portraits of Ahmaud Arbery to jurors on the first day of the murder trial for three men charged in his death. In opening statements on Friday, the attorneys described Arbery as either an innocent Black runner fatally shot by three white strangers or “a scary mystery” who had been seen prowling around a Georgia neighborhood. The slaying on Feb . 23, 2020, was largely ignored until cellphone video of it leaked and deepened a national reckoning over racial injustice. The three defendants are standing trial together. The trial could last two weeks or more.