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Opening statements today in building-collapse trial

Demolition contractor Griffin Campbell faces third-degree murder charges in the Salvation Army building collapse.

The site of the June 2013 building collapse at 22nd and Market streets that killed six and injured 13. (CHARLES FOX / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The site of the June 2013 building collapse at 22nd and Market streets that killed six and injured 13. (CHARLES FOX / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Read more

THE HIGH-PROFILE criminal trial of a demolition contractor charged with six counts of third-degree murder and related offenses in the June 2013 Market Street building collapse will begin this afternoon with opening statements.

A jury of 12 people and three alternates was selected yesterday to hear the expected four-week trial of Griffin Campbell, 51.

One or two more alternates are to be chosen this morning.

Common Pleas Judge Glenn Bronson indicated that the trial would begin at 1:30 p.m. today in a third-floor courtroom of the Criminal Justice Center.

Campbell, who has been in custody since November 2013, has maintained his innocence.

In addition to the third-degree-murder charges - one count for each of the six people killed - Campbell also faces six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 12 counts of recklessly endangering another person, and a count each of causing a catastrophe and aggravated assault.

At 10:42 a.m. June 5, 2013, an unsupported three-story wall of a building being demolished next to the one-story Salvation Army thrift store, at 22nd and Market streets in Center City, crashed onto the store, killing six people and injuring 13, including a woman whose legs had to be amputated.

Sean Benschop, the operator of a 36,000-pound excavator at the demolition site, and Campbell, the general contractor on the job, were the only two people criminally charged in the collapse.

In July, Benschop, 44, pleaded guilty to six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 12 counts of recklessly endangering another person and related offenses. In exchange, prosecutors dropped third-degree murder charges and agreed not to ask for a sentence of more than 10 to 20 years in prison when Benschop is sentenced.

Last week, Campbell rejected the same plea offer offered by prosecutors to Benschop. He said he wants the public to decide his fate. If the jury convicts him of more than one third-degree-murder charge, he faces a sentence of life in prison.

Prosecutors allege that out of greed, Campbell cut corners. They allege that under Campbell's direction, Benschop ignored the dangers of operating heavy machinery at the demolition site.

William Hobson, Campbell's attorney, has contended that others, including Richard Basciano, who owned the building that was being demolished, should be held responsible for the collapse.

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