Local

Judge delays BP rig supervisors' trial until June

GULF OF MEXICO - APRIL 26: In this satellite image, the oil slick produced Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion is seen April 26, 2010 in The Gulf of Mexico. The well is now leaking approximately 1,000 barrels of oil into the gulf waters daily. (Photo by DigitalGlobe via Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has agreed to postpone the manslaughter trial of two BP supervisors who worked on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The trial of Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine was scheduled to start on Jan. 13, but U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. agreed to delay it until June 2 during a closed-door meeting with attorneys earlier this week.

Defense attorneys had asked for a nine-month delay, saying they need more time to review millions of pages of documents provided by the government.

Kaluza and Vidrine pleaded not guilty last year to charges they botched a key safety test before the blowout of BP's Macondo well. Eleven workers died in the subsequent explosion.

WFTV

Most Read