CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. --A motions hearing for Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, considered by some to be the mastermind of a kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi man in Hamdania, was postponed Monday for at least 24 hours because bad weather grounded key attorneys on the East Coast.

Four Marines and a Navy corpsman who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in last year's slaying have said that the serviceman from Plymouth, Mass., planned the killing.

The strategy Hutchins and his attorneys will use to respond to the allegations is expected to be revealed at the hearing.

Hutchins was the leader of an eight-man squad accused of killing Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, last year. The five that pleaded guilty said Hutchins came up with the plan -- and several said he fired the fatal shots. A Marine corporal who initially pleaded guilty to murder withdrew those pleas because he said he was ordered by Hutchins to participate in the kidnapping and killing.

Hutchins' attorney Rich Brannon has said he does not believe Hutchins did anything wrong.

Brannon recently traveled with other attorneys to Iraq to inspect the crime scene in the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania. Also on the trip was Joseph Low, the attorney for Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, who is headed to trial on murder and kidnapping charges.

Prosecutors say Awad was an innocent civilian murdered by Marines who took the law into their own hands. Low said that may not be the case.

"I went to Iraq to see if I could gather additional evidence so I could have proof that the judge would allow me to bring into court as to Awad's past terrorist activities," Low said.

The lawyers' Iraq trip points to a potential trial strategy -- that of convincing a jury that Awad was an insurgent and the Marines were justified in their actions.

Low said he was unable to gather any evidence linking Awad to a terrorist past. The conditions of the trip made that impossible, he said, as he and the other lawyers only had about 20 minutes on the ground in Hamdania.

The town, located on the outskirts of Fallujah, is now run by insurgents and the Marines and Army no longer patrol there, the attorney said.

Low said the government had classified information about Awad's past and he intended to file a motion to allow that evidence in court.

The squad forced Awad into a hole and shot him, then tried to cover it up by placing an AK-47 and shovel by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb, according to prosecutors and the troops that have testified.

Prosecutors have said the troops wanted to kill an Iraqi insurgent they suspected of planting bombs. They couldn't find the man, and instead kidnapped Awad to "send a message," according to court testimony.

The Navy corpsman, Seaman Recruit Melson J. Bacos, told a court that after Awad was dead, Hutchins said, "Congratulations, we just got away with murder, gents."

Hutchins, a 2002 graduate of Plymouth South High School, signed up for the Marines as part of the delayed entry program shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.