A man who six people and injured dozens more is now claiming he is ‘not guilty by mental disease or defect’.
Darrell Brooks, 39, drove his SUV through a crowd of people at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year.
He faces 80 charges, including six counts of homicide, and pleaded guilty in February but has since claimed insanity.
His attorney, Jeremy Perri, did not elaborate on the reasons for the switch.
He was in court to argue that any trial should be moved out of the county or jurors should be brought in from outside the area.
They believe that because of the publicity of the incident he would not receive a fair trial.
Judge Jennifer Dorow accepted that there had been a large amount of press coverage, but denied the request because interest in the story had waned and jurors weren’t required to be ignorant of the case.
Children and elderly people were among those at the Christmas celebration being held in the community when his SUV ploughed through the crowd.
He Jackson Sparks, eight, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52, LeAnna Owen, 71, Virginia Sorenson, 79, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
Brooks is being held on a $5 million and will undergo a mental health evaluation.
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