Preliminary hearing set for 2 in building collapse
Sean Benschop, Griffin Campbell remain imprisoned in the fatal June 5 demolition on Market Street.
SEAN BENSCHOP and Griffin Campbell, charged in the June 5 building collapse in Center City that killed six people, will have a joint preliminary hearing Feb. 18, a judge ruled yesterday.
Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan also denied defense attorney Daine Grey's request to reduce Benschop's $1.6 million bail on most of the charges he faces and refused to give him bail on one count of conspiracy to commit third-degree murder.
Benschop, 42, is charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter and numerous related counts for using an excavator to knock the wall of a building being demolished onto the Salvation Army thrift store at 22nd and Market streets. In addition to the fatalities, 13 people were trapped in the rubble and injured.
Campbell, 49, the owner of the construction company that hired Benschop, is charged with six counts of third-degree murder and related counts. Under state law, he is not eligible for bail because he faces a life sentence if convicted on all counts.