CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two teenagers charged in the murder of a college baseball player appeared in court Thursday but no resolution was reached in the case, leaving the victim's family frustrated.
The fatal shooting of Zachary Finch happened nearly a year ago and both suspects were expected to enter a plea during their court appearance.
Finch's family said if the two accused killers accepted a plea deal, they would be able to confront them in court. If the pair rejected the deal, then the case would go to trial.
We first updated WSOCTV news app users with a notification just before 5 a.m. Thursday that this case, which has resonated throughout the community, could come to a conclusion.
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[PAST COVERAGE: Mother of slain baseball player: 'We are broken']
Finch was killed when he tried to buy a cellphone using the "Let Go" app at an apartment complex in west Charlotte last June.
Police arrested 18-year-old Demonte McCain and 15-year-old Jah'zian Wilson and charged them both with murder.
Two of Wilson’s friends reportedly told investigators he was the one who shot Finch. Both suspects are teens but are being tried as adults for first-degree murder.
During Thursday's hearing, Wilson pleaded not guilty, but McCain was granted an additional two weeks after his attorney asked for time to review more evidence, leaving the Finch family distraught.
"Every day he missed out on they should suffer for it. They should be in jail for every day, month, week he's not here because we suffer every day,” Finch’s sister, Hannah, said.
The past 12 months have been extremely painful for Finch's family. Zach's mother, Tara, has been coming to court every 10 days to make sure a judge does not let the two teens accused of killing her son out of jail.
They were in court again Thursday to see if the case would finally come to a close. After the hearing, relatives gathered outside the courthouse, crying and hugging each other.
"I'm not a hateful person, but I hate these people,” Finch’s mother, Tara, said. “They had no right to take his life and destroy my family, and now we wait and suffer for another year."
Finch's family will be back in court in two weeks for McCain's hearing. It's possible he will also plead not guilty. If that happens, both suspects would be tried in 2019.
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