Du Pont Trial Opens

MEDIA, Pennsylvania: Opening arguments in the murder trial of multimillionaire John E. du Pont began in this Pennsylvania hamlet this morning, dredging up the bizarre circumstances that led to the shooting death of Olympic wrestler David Schultz last January 26. Schultz, a gold medalist in 1984, had been living and training on du Pont's estate with his family when du Pont inexplicably shot him dead as Schultz' wife looked on. Du Pont barricaded himself in the family mansion, holding out against an army of police officers for two days. Du Pont's past bizarre behavior is the basis of the insanity plea his defense team will put forth, though even they seem to put little faith in the tactic. Defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom, when interviewing potential jury members, repeatedly asked if they thought the insanity defense was a "lawyer's trick," or a "legal loophole." Pennsylvania has strict standards for proving insanity, and juries are often skeptical of it as a defense.