Broome County Double Murder Trial Begins

A jury in Broome County is set to starting hearing arguments in the double-murder trial of 40 year old Aaron Powell of Binghamton.

Powell is accused of killing his estranged wife, 35 year old Christina Powell and her friend, 24 year old Mario Maciarelli at the woman’s Town of Binghamton home in March of last year.

The final members of the jury were seated July 11 following extensive questioning about how much they knew about the case from media reports, if they were acquainted with the accused, the victims or any family members and if they had already formed any opinions about the case.

Christina Powell’s family and friends called police when they were unable to contact the woman.

After the woman was found, strangled with an electrical cord, her friend was found elsewhere in the house, bludgeoned to death.

Aaron Powell, who had been separated from his wife for about three months, was on the run from authorities for several days before being found at a Pennsylvania convenience store and taken into custody without incident.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks.