Defense wants jurors to see Beason crime scene

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — A judge in central Illinois has set an April 1 hearing date to consider a request from defense attorneys who want jurors to see the scene where five members of a Beason family were killed in 2009.

WJBC Radio (http://bit.ly/XOuIrt ) reports that attorney Daniel Fultz submitted a motion asking the judge to allow the trip for jurors who will hear the case against Christopher Harris. Harris and his brother have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Ruth and Rick Gee and three of their children.

Fultz says going to the home in Beason will help convince jurors that Harris is innocent. Fultz argues that the Gees' 14-year-old son killed his family and that Harris walked in on the crime and killed the teen in self-defense.

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Information from: WJBC-AM, http://www.wjbc.com