ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Jury selection was completed Friday for the capital murder trial of Benjamin Lee Lilly after four days of questioning potential jurors.
A motion by the defense to move the trial was denied by Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs.
Opening arguments will be heard beginning Monday morning at 9.
A muffled cheer rose Friday from inside the room that held the remaining members of the jury pool, who had waited four days to hear that their services were no longer needed.
Jury selection in a capital murder case takes longer than in other criminal cases because each potential juror is questioned separately. Both the defense and the prosecution, as well as the judge, ask questions to determine whether potential jurors have any bias for or against the death penalty. Jurors must be open to the punishment because a conviction requires that they consider the death penalty or life in prison.
The court questioned 42 people to get the final panel of 12 jurors and two alternates.
Lilly, 28, of Riner, was arrested on capital murder and eight related charges Dec. 5 after he and two other men were found with a car belonging to Alexander V. DeFilippis, a 22-year-old Virginia Tech junior from McLean. DeFilippis' body was found in the rural Whitethorne area of the county. He had been shot three times in the head.
Gary Barker, 20, of Merrimac pleaded guilty in August for his part in the crime spree, which included two armed robberies of Giles County convenience stores. Barker was sentenced to 53 years in prison after agreeing to testify against Ben Lilly and Mark Lilly.
Mark Lilly, Ben Lilly's 21-year-old brother, is to go on trial Nov. 19. He backed up Barker's story, telling police Ben Lilly shot DeFilippis.
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