Jury selection in the University of Virginia lacrosse murder trial continues for a second day Tuesday.
Former UVA student-athlete George Huguely is accused of beating Yeardley Love, also a student-athlete, to death in May 2010.
The two had dated, but police documents indicate their relationship ended just before she died, and that they fought the night before her body was found. Huguely's arrest warrant states he told police that he hit Love during that argument and her head continually banged into the wall. Love's roommate found her face down on her pillow, dead in their apartment on May 3, 2010. Love also had a swollen right eye and severe facial bruising.
On Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys began the process of weeding out the potential jury pool. Attorneys questioned 40 prospective jurors throughout the day. By the end, only 19 of those 40 were still in contention; the other 21 were excused for cause.
The jury will ultimately be composed of 12 jurors and three alternates. Both the defense and prosecution have the option to strike as many as six potential jurors from the pool. That means lawyers must agree on at least 27 potential jurors, so they need to find eight more people to fill the pool.
When court began Tuesday, the prosecutors told the court that it had reconsidered its opposition to a defense motion to strike a particular juror, and now has no objection to it. Therefore, the the amount of potential jurors was reduced from 19 to 18.
Once that's done, the jury will be chosen.
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