BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – Two weeks after being convicted in a shooting rampage that killed two people, a man has filed a request for a new trial, saying the judge made mistakes in his case.

Christopher Williams, 29, of Essex, contends that his trial for the 2006 killings in Essex should have been moved out of Burlington because of pretrial publicity and that Judge Geoffrey Crawford gave incorrect instructions to jurors.

“In essence, this process deprived the defendant of his right to be presumed innocent and shifted the burden to him to prove his innocence,” defense attorneys Bob Katims and Margaret Jansch wrote in the motion.

On July 17, a jury convicted Williams on two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the Aug. 24, 2006 shootings at an elementary school, a townhouse and a condominium. Prosecutors said he was bent on killing his ex-girlfriend and her mother after breaking up with the girlfriend.

His lawyers said Williams was insane at the time.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan declined comment Friday on Williams’ motion.


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