vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #553 / Crime watch / Reading article...

Court hearings of the case launched against an American national Christopher Garner began in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk on January 19. Garner is facing murder charges.

Garner is accused of killing a relative of his Russian wife Svetlana in September of 2006, prosecutors said, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The Garner couple arrived in Khabarovsk to attend the funeral of Svetlana's aunt and after the funeral they had an argument with the uncle who was entitled to inherit the one-room apartment. During the conflict, Garner killed Alexander Kaminsky, 53, prosecutors said.

Officials said that the case is being conducted with the aid of an interpreter, as well as U.S. Embassy and Armed Forces representatives, as Garner served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

According to investigators, the Garners put the corpse of the man into a bag and called a taxi which took them out of the city to the village of Solnechny.

The Garners were detained September 9 in Moscow. Svetlana is a witness in the case. If convicted, Garner may face six to 15 years in prison.