Miami

Hearing Held for Alleged Craigslist Roommate Attacker

A hearing was held Thursday for a Miami-Dade man accused of brutally assaulting his Craigslist roommate, as the case prepares to head to trial.

Byron Mitchell, 36, is charged with attempted felony murder in the February incident that left 23-year-old Danielle Jones in a coma.

Mitchell, who remains behind bars without bond, didn't appear in court Thursday, but Jones and her family were there, expecting to see him.

"Danielle was upset, she knew she was going to see him," mother Aimee Nikolov said.

Jones found Mitchell on a Craigslist ad for a roommate. He moved into her Miami apartment but two weeks later on Valentine's Day, Mitchell allegedly choked Jones and then beat her head into the floor.

"We get to see the consequences of what this man did to her, how different she is," Nikolov said.

Mitchell claims Jones came at him with a knife and he was defending himself. For now attorneys are still working on gathering all medical information and interviewing witnesses.

"At the end of the day we need to be patient so that justice can be served and he can stay in prison for life and that's what we want," said Jamie Peters, Jones' attorney.

Prosecutors said they're prepared for trial, which is scheduled to start on January 17. Both sides will come to court every 30 days or so to update the judge on their progress and the next hearing will be in mid October.

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