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Close to a Jury in Wesson Case

KFSN, USA
Feb. 28, 2005
abclocal.go.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Tuesday March 1, 2005

February 28, 2005 — A jury could be seated in the Marcus Wesson mass murder trial by the end of the week.

Court was supposed to begin in the morning on Tuesday, but four people failed to show up and questioning was postponed until the afternoon.

Each side had 45 minutes to question the first group of 18 prospective jurors.

Jurors were asked about whether they could be fair.

One woman responded, “I don’t think any of us want to be here. As someone who abides by the law, I believe we belong here.”

Another question included whether people would be offended by graphic language used to describe sex charges Wesson is facing involving some female family members.

A woman said, “I have two daughters … five granddaughters … the sex charges enrage me. I don’t feel like I can be impartial.” She was relieved to be excused.

Wesson has pleaded not guilty to murdering his nine children last March.

Out of the 18 potential jurors questioned, eight were excused.

Several said they had served on panels before. At least three were jurors on homicide cases.

The judge must still decide whether there will be a change of venue.

Local defense expert Ernest Kinney says it looks doubtful, “It’s still up in the air, but I think there’s a shot it could be tried somewhere else. But, it looks like they’re going to try and do it here.”

More group questioning is scheduled for Tuesday.

Marcus Wesson’s wife and children are expected to make a brief court appearance in regards to their testimony in the case.