ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Opening statements are offering opposing portraits of the widow of the man who shot and killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida.
A federal prosecutor and Noor Salman's defense attorney opened her trial in federal court Wednesday.
The 31-year-old is charged with aiding and abetting her husband, Omar Mateen, in planning the 2016 attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Prosecutors are portraying Salman as helping Mateen scope out possible locations to attack and knowing of his plan when he left the house in the hours before the attack. They also say she lied and tried to mislead FBI agents.
Her attorney says Salman is a simple, caring mother of a 5-year-old with an IQ of 84 and knew nothing about Mateen's plans.
