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Man charged over Beyond Wonderland shooting pleads not guilty
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 10 July 2023
A man charged with murder following the shooting at US dance music festival Beyond Wonderland last month has pleaded not guilty.
Two people died and three more were injured during the shooting, which took place on the first night of this year’s Beyond Wonderland event.
James M Kelly, currently serving with the US army, was arrested in relation to the incident and was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree domestic violence assault.
According to The Seattle Times, Kelly last week pleaded not guilty to all charges. A public defender has been appointed to represent Kelly, who may well seek to negotiate lesser charges with prosecutors.
After the incident last month, Kelly reportedly told detectives that he took a dose of psychedelic mushrooms while at the music festival which caused him to hallucinate – and that those hallucinations may have led to the shooting.
His girlfriend, who was one of the people injured, says that, under the influence of the drugs, Kelly said he thought the world was ending.
