The trial for 15 crew of a South Korean ferry that sank in April, killing more than 300 people, most of them children, began Tuesday on charges ranging from negligence to homicide, with the word "murderer" ringing out as the captain entered the court.

Captain Lee Joon-seok, 68, and three senior crew members were charged with homicide, facing a maximum sentence of death. Two were charged with fleeing and abandoning ship that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Nine were charged with negligence, which can also carry jail terms.

But family members appeared to have already convicted the crew who were caught on video abandoning ship, the captain in his underwear, while the children, obeying orders, waited in their cabins for further instructions.