Trial set for accused crossbow killer Strandberg

A mentally ill Spokane man accused of murdering a woman with a crossbow more than two years ago is set for trial in January 2011 after a judge ruled he’s able to assist his attorney. Cole K. Strandberg, 24, pleaded not guilty today to aggravated first-degree murder before Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen - a charge that carries either the death penalty or life in prison. Prosecutors decided in October not to seek the death penalty. Strandberg has been on medication in the Spokane County Jail since Eitzen deemed him incompetent to stand trial last January. The case began Jan. 7, 2008, when Strandberg walked into Sacred Heart Medical Center about 7 a.m. and told employees: “I have a dead body. It’s a girl. I will probably go to prison,” according to court documents. Police found a body - later identified as 22-year-old Jennifer Bergeron - at Strandberg’s apartment at 1304 S. Chestnut St. and described the scene as “extremely brutal.” Since then, Strandberg has become one of the jail’s most notorious inmates; additional jailers accompany him to and from court. He was featured last year in an episode of “Behind Bars” on the Discovery Channel, which included a video clip of Strandberg fracturing a jail deputy’s neck during an altercation in his jail cell. Jury selection is set to begin Jan. 5. A pre-trial conference is set for early December. Past coverage: Jan. 16, 2008: Strandberg’s parents struggled to get him treatment