The trial began today, for a man accused of stabbing a Santa Cruz business owner to death as she walked on Broadway Street in Santa Cruz in 2012. Charles Anthony Edwards III is believed to have killed 38-year-old Shannon Collins. The question is whether he will be found guilty, and whether he will be deemed to have been in his right mind at the time of the attack. Edwards faces a charge of first degree murder and that designation requires that evidence prove that the accused had specific intent, and that the act was premeditated. Edwards has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
