Double Mistrial in|Missouri Murder Case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CN) - A murder suspect's attack on his attorney caused a judge to declare a mistrial.

Derek T. Hubbard attacked his attorney in front of 70 potential jurors in a Jackson County courtroom on June 24, the KC Star reported.

The mistrial, the second in as many days, moved the trial back to this week. Hubbard's trial was scheduled to begin Monday. Prosecutors have filed a brief to deny him the right of being present at trial.

On Monday, June 23, as attorneys questioned 65 potential jurors, Hubbard allegedly yelled that he was a victim of a conspiracy, and had to be forcibly removed from the courtroom. The outburst prompted his public defender, Curtis Winegarner, to seek a mistrial, which was granted.

The next day, as attorneys questioned a new group of jurors, Hubbard allegedly and without provocation attacked Winegarner, the Star reported.

Hubbard, 49, of Kansas City, Mo., is charged with killing his girlfriend, her cousin and the cousin's wife in November 2011. He faces a charge of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree robbery.

Online court records on Monday, the day the trial was scheduled to begin, did not indicate how the judge planned to proceed.

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