A U.S. Marine with ties to Western Pennsylvania will be the first of eight Marines to have a hearing on charges filed after an incident in which 24 Iraqi civilians were killed in the town of Haditha.

The military hearing for Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, who is charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder, is scheduled for April 17 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said his mother, Theresa Sharratt of Canonsburg. Known as an Article 32 hearing, the proceeding is similar to a preliminary hearing and is held to determine if sufficient evidence exists to warrant a court-martial.

In December, Cpl. Sharratt, 22, of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, was accused of fatally shooting three Iraqi men with a service pistol after a Marine in his convoy was killed during an ambush on Nov. 19, 2005. He was one of four Marines charged with unpremeditated murder in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths in the Iraq war.

His squad leader was charged with 12 counts of murder and a separate count of ordering other civilians killed. Four officers also were charged with failing to investigate and report the killings.

If found guilty, Cpl. Sharratt could face up to life in prison. The Marine Corps is not seeking the death penalty in any of the cases. He remains at Camp Pendleton, where his mother said he is working and his movements are not restricted.

Cpl. Sharratt, whose parents are natives of Washington County, was born in Washington and lived as a child in North Huntingdon. His family later moved to Granger, Ind., where he graduated from high school and joined the Marines in 2003.

He has declined to comment on the charges. His family has maintained he "followed the rules of engagement" and did nothing wrong in Haditha.

An investigation of the Haditha incident became public last year after Time magazine conducted interviews in Iraq and reported that the killings were deliberate attacks and not unintended casualties, as the Marines originally contended. The incident attracted further attention when U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, said Marines in Haditha killed civilians "in cold blood" and tried to cover up those actions.