Family and friends will be allowed in the courtroom during graphic testimony in the trial of James E. Trimble, Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge John Enlow ruled on Monday.

Trimble is accused of killing three people including Kent State student Sarah Positano.

In a hearing July 29, Public Defender Dennis Lager asked Enlow to allow friends and family to view parts of the trial from a closed-circuit television in another room.

In particular, Lager wanted family and friends barred from the courtroom during the playing of a call between Positano and a hostage negotiator. The conversation between Positano and the negotiator will cause “uncontrollable emotional outbursts,” Lager said.

“You’re going to hear Miss Positano shot, and you’re going to hear her die,” he said.

Enlow agreed with Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci who said there is no legal precedent for barring friends and family from the courtroom. In the July 29 hearing, Vigluicci cited an Ohio Supreme Court ruling which allowed family and friends to be present during graphic evidence and testimony.

Trimble, 45, is scheduled to begin trial Sept. 19 for the murder of his girlfriend Renee Bauer,42; her 7-year-old son Dakota; and Positano, 22.

— Amanda Garrett