Trial into 2017 killing of American tourist to start on Friday

The trial into the killing of 22-year-old American tourist Bakari Henderson on the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos last summer is due to begin in thw western port city of Patra on Friday, but it appears that key defendants and witnesses will not be taking part in the proceedings.

According to a report by CBS News, parents Phil and Jill Henderson have traveled to Greece for the trial against nine men, most of them Serbian nationals, who are accused of beating Bakari Henderson to death following an altercation at a bar in the resort town of Laganas on the night of July 7.

“Justice for me and my family would be that the guys who did this… would definitely get the max sentence for what they’ve done to this family,” Phil Henderson was quoted as telling the “CBS This Morning: Saturday” show.

The report added that one of the three witnesses to the incident – friends of Henderson who were with him on the Ionian island where the business graduate was shooting promotional material for a fashion line – will probably not be testifying in court.

“We know from speaking to the family that he’s been having a hard time with it,” Phil Henderson told CBS.

Two of the nine defendants, meanwhile, are reportedly going to be tried in abstentia as they were released from pretrial custody and are believed to have returned to Serbia.

The investigation into the incident has revealed evidence that the attack on Bakari Henderson may have been racially motivated.