NY court begins trial of Pak-American TV executive accused of beheading wife

New York, Jan 19 (ANI): A New York court has started hearing the case of a Pakistani-origin television executive charged with beheading his wife after she filed for diverse.

Opening statements in the second-degree murder trial of Muzzammil Hassan began yesterday in Erie County Court in Buffalo, New York.

The Pakistani-born couple had reportedly set up a pro-Muslim television channel, Bridges TV, in the United States to counter the negative impression about Islam following 9/11 terror attacks.

Forty-six-year-old Hassan is accused of stabbing and beheading Aasiya Hassan, 37, inside the channel's studio in 2009.

Hassan's wife had alleged in her divorce papers, signed six days before her death, that she was abused by her husband. The murdered wife's family has alleged that Hasan had begun another relationship and had 'taunted' his wife about his new lover.

However, Hassan's lawyer Jeremy Schwartz, the accused's fourth attorney since the case began, has said that he might use a battered spouse defence, and expressed confidence that his client would receive a fair trial.

"We will try to choose people for the jury that are going to strictly abide by the judge's instructions,' he added.

The wife of Bridges TV's founder had served as the station's General Manager after its 2004 launch. The network, available across the U.S. and Canada, was believed to be the first English-language cable station targeting Muslims across the region. (ANI)