Date for Murder Trial Set for Son of Grocer

The trial of the son of a local shop owner, who is charged with murdering his three-and-a-half-month old daughter, has been set for March 20, a spokesman for the Cambridge District Court said yesterday.

David Azar will face the first degree murder charge in the Middlesex Superior Court House before Judge Hiller Zobel, according to court spokesman Tom Samoluk.

David Azar was arrested on November 29 of last year, two days after the death of his daughter, Geneva Azar, after the turned himself in to Sudbury police, according to Samoluk.

Azar's case has generated local attention because of his affiliation with the Cambridge Country Store, located at 1759 Mass. Ave., only a few blocks from the Law School. Azar works at the store, which his father owns.

Many Law School students frequent the store, which sells a wide range of merchandise, including teas, sweets, wines and country houseware items.

The police and the district attorney charged him with the murder on the basis of evidence obtained from autopsy results and on the knowledge that Azar was present alone with the child when she died.

Robert A. George, Azar's attorney, said that Azar is not guilty and that they intend to prove his innocence in court. George said that there was no evidence of "harm to his daughter that would render him liable."

George, who is with the firm of Balliro, Monzano and Balliro, said Azar cooperated fully with the police during the investigation and willingly turned himself in when the police told him he would be indicated for murder. "At no time was he not in custody as a result of not cooperating with the police," said George.

Azar is currently free on bail, which was initially set at $100,000 in cash but was then reduced to $75,000.

George also said that his defense of Azar could involve showing the death was an accident or the result of someone else's hand, but would not comment further.

Azar could not be reached for comment.

The court spokesman said Azar will appear in court on February 8 for interim hearings before his trial begins in March.

Most students were unaware that Azar had been arrested and indicted. Curtis Gomez, a law student, who recently lived on Everett Street, close to the Cambridge Country Story, said he occasionally shopped there and was very surprised to hear the story.

Marc Boatwright, a second-year law student, said that he "went in a couple of times," but that he "hadn't heard anything" about the killing.