Associated Press
 
February 22, 2010
 
SALEM, Ore. -- A weeklong series of pretrial hearings have begun in Salem for a father and son accused of a bank bombing in Woodburn that killed two Oregon police officers in December 2008.
 
Bruce Turnidge and his son, Joshua, are both charged with aggravated murder after a bomb planted at a branch of West Coast Bank killed a Woodburn police captain and an Oregon State Police trooper.
 
The Turnidges were in Marion County court Monday as defense lawyers opened the hearings with expert testimony on a National Science Foundation-funded study on potential jury bias favoring the death penalty.
 
Prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to argue a series of motions through Friday. Trial is not expected until September.
 
The blast also seriously injured Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell, who returned to work last year after undergoing several surgeries.