Judge Closes Hearing in Shabazz Case

The grandson of Malcolm X appeared at a closed court hearing in connection with a fire that severely burned his grandmother, the widow of the civil rights leader. Westchester Family Court Judge Howard Spitz ordered the hearing closed and said further proceedings would be sealed until the case was over. The exact charges against the youth were not known. Before the hearing was closed, Percy Sutton, the child’s lawyer and one of New York’s most prominent black political figures, asked that the reading of the charges be waived. Betty Shabazz, the 63-year-old widow of Malcolm X, suffered third-degree burns over 80% of her body in the fire Sunday at her apartment. She is in critical condition at Jacobi Hospital.