A judge on Wednesday postponed the second phase of the trial for Capital Gazette shooter Jarrod Ramos at his defense’s request, according to a spokesperson for the Maryland Judiciary.
The defense had requested the postponement based on discovery issues, said Terri Charles, assistant public information officer.
Ramos pleaded guilty Monday to killing five employees at the newspaper last year.
The next phase of his trial to determine if he was mentally competent when he committed the crimes.
That was set to get underway Wednesday with jury selection. That is now on hold and no new date has been set, Charles said. Jurors were released.
Maryland law allows for separate proceedings within a trial to determine guilt and mental competency if a defendant is using an insanity defense. The mental competency phase is called criminal responsibility.
Police said Ramos stormed the Capital Gazette’s offices on June 28, 2018, killing five employees: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.
