March 2018 trial date set for Gary man accused of 7 slayings

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A Gary man accused of killing seven women is due to face trial in two of the cases next March 18.

Lake County Judge Samuel Cappas set the trial date Friday for 46-year-old Darren Vann in the strangulation deaths of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy and 35-year-old Anith Jones in October 2014.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports (http://bit.ly/2qomyw1 ) Vann is expected to face a separate trial in connection with the slayings of five other women.

Vann faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of the alleged crimes.

The Indiana Supreme Court last week turned down Vann's to examine the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute before he stands trial. Vann argued the statute possibly violates the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com