ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
A panel of 10 men and four women was picked Thursday to hear the case of one of two Navy SEAL trainees charged with murdering a Georgia college student last June.
The jury of 12 plus two alternates will hear opening statements today in the Circuit Court trial of Billy Joe Brown Jr.
Brown, 23, of Dayton, Ohio, is charged with murder, abduction with intent to defile, sexual penetration with an object and attempted rape in the slaying of Jennifer L. Evans, 21.
Also charged is Brown's Navy buddy, SEAL trainee Dustin A. Turner, 20, of Bloomington, Ind. His trial is set for June 25. If convicted, both men face up to life in prison.
During jury selection that began Monday, many prospective jurors said they had followed intense publicity about the case. Some were disqualified because they had already formed an opinion about Brown's guilt.
Circuit Judge A. Bonwill Shockley denied repeated attempts by Brown's attorney, Andrew Sacks, to move the trial because of the publicity.
She called the pool of 24 people from which the jury was picked a fair cross-section of the community.
``There are at least several people on there who said they had heard nothing about the case,'' the judge said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Humphreys said outside court that the jurors range in age from their 20s to their 60s. The panel includes several retired military members, one active-duty sailor and some business people.
Evans, of Tucker, Ga., was last seen leaving an oceanfront nightclub with Turner on June 19 . Her body was found eight days later in a Newport News park, about 30 miles from Virginia Beach.
Turner and Brown were roommates at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, where they were training for the Navy's commando unit.
In separate interviews with police, each accused the other of strangling Evans. Both admitted that they disposed of her body together.
Lawyers said they expect the trial to last another week or two.
LENGTH: Short : 47 linesby CNB