Hearing postponed for soccer player in slaying

DETROIT (AP) - A hearing for a Detroit-area soccer player charged in the one-punch slaying of a referee has been postponed. Wayne County Circuit Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway postponed last Friday's hearing. She rescheduled it for Thursday. Bassel Saad's second-degree murder trial is set for Dec. 8. Prosecutors and police say the 36-year-old Dearborn man punched John Bieniewicz on June 29 as Bieniewicz was preparing to red-card and eject Saad during an adult recreational league game in Livonia. Saad's lawyer has said his client is sorry for his actions, but called prosecutors' second-degree murder case weak. A witness said in an earlier probable cause hearing that the 44-year-old Bieniewicz did not expect the attack and didn't see the punch coming. Published: Tue, Nov 04, 2014