RALEIGH -- The Samuel J. Cooper murder trial is scheduled to start again Monday.
Defense lawyer Lisa Miles became ill in the middle of the trial, and early Wednesday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Henry Hight recessed the proceedings. Court officials decided Friday to wait until Monday to bring jurors back.
Cooper, 33, of Wake County, is on trial for five counts of first-degree murder.
On the first day of testimony, one of his lawyers, Stephen Freedman readily admitted that Cooper killed the five men - Osama "Sam" Haj-Hussein, 43; LeRoy Jernigan, 40; Timothy David Barnwell, 34; Ricky High, 48; and Tariq Hussain, 52.
In a capital case that could put the death penalty on trial as well as the defendant, the defense team hopes to persuade jurors that the killings were not premeditated or calculated, elements necessary for first-degree murder.
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Michelle Young visited a therapist a week before her death, complaining about the state of her marriage. 
Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata defended today a plan to change the schedules at most of the district’s schools this fall while also saying school leaders may reconsider where they relocate Panther Creek High School’s freshmen. 
Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, the co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, will not seek re-election. 
A Wake County investigator testified Thursday during the Jason Young murder trial that he called Raleigh-Durham International Airport during his investigation to find out whether any small planes had landed Nov. 3, 2006, from southwestern Virginia. Keep up with the latest stories with our free local news e-mail newsletters, delivered straight to your inbox!
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