LEFLORE COUNTY (KFSM) — The murder trial of Elvis Thacker started in a LeFlore County Courthouse with jury selection on Monday (April 4).
Thacker is accused of murdering Brianna Ault, whose body was found in a Pocola strip pit in September 2010.
Court officials said they expect the jury selection to last several days.
The court clerk said there is a pool of 140 jurors today. They have been bringing them in six at a time.
However, there are approximately four other trials going on in LeFlore County. All the trials are sharing the same juror pool.
The prosecution and defense asked jurors about their stance on the death penalty. The prosecution is also expected to ask jurors to impose the death penalty if Thacker is convicted.
Thacker faces a first degree murder charge and a forcible sodomy charge.
The prosecution and defense also asked potential jurors if they would consider another form of punishment for if he is convicted. Those scenarios included their opinion on sentencing a convicted person to life in prison without parole and life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The prosecution did not dive too far into the sentencing questions, but the prosecution did. The prosecution asked jurors whether, if Thacker is convicted, they could they consider life with the possibility of parole if the defendant was mentally ill or had a drug abuse problem.
5NEWS will continue to bring you updates on this trial throughout the process.
