Joshua Mitchell to head to trial on gas-and-dash murder charge

The man accused of killing a Calgary gas station attendant in a hit and runlast Junewill head directly to trial.

Joshua Mitchell was charged with second-degree murder after Maryam Rashidi was struck and killed trying to stop a driver from stealing gas.

He was supposed to go to a preliminary inquiry but the Crown prosecutor involved decided to proceed by direct indictment meaning it wouldheadstraightto trial.

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Rashidi, 35, was working as a gas station attendant at the Centex on 16 Avenue northwest when shechased after a driver who stole $113 in gas.

She was hit by the truck,carried on the hood and then run over. She later died in hospital.

Rashidiand her husband moved to Canada in late 2014 to work in the oil and gas industry.

Both engineers, they were laid off after just four months in Calgary, soRashidi took the job at the Centex gas station where she had worked for just three days beforeshe was killed.

Mitchell is also charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and theft under $5,000.

A date for trial has been set for April 24, 2017.