Thursday, September 20, 2007
24 potential jurors chosen in Morva case
At least 60 people were excused during jury selection, which lasted three days.
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CHRISTIANSBURG -- There were some tense moments Wednesday evening in Montgomery County Circuit Court as it became increasingly unlikely that enough jurors could be found for William Morva's trial out of the crowd of people who had been called to court for jury selection.
But about 6:30 p.m., with only two potential jurors remaining who hadn't been questioned, the 24th and final person necessary to fill the pool was chosen.
Several people in the courtroom exchanged excited glances and let out sighs of relief as Circuit Court Judge Ray Grubbs announced that he would seat one of the three people who had just been questioned. The other two were excused.
The pool consists of 17 women and seven men.
A woman who had been seated Monday was excused Wednesday after suffering from anxiety attacks since she was chosen, Grubbs said. It was unclear if the attacks were related to the case, though the woman had said during jury questioning that she didn't agree with the death penalty.
Had Grubbs not been able to find 24 people he believed to be unbiased out of those who were called to court over the three days, the trial could have been moved out of the county.
Defense attorneys Tony Anderson and Tom Blaylock have argued for months that the trial should be moved, saying county residents have been tainted by excessive pretrial publicity.
Grubbs took their motion for a change of venue under advisement, saying he would wait to see how long it took to seat a jury. The motion has not yet been denied.
The trial will continue this morning as the pool is winnowed down to 12 jurors and two alternates, with the prosecution and the defense each cutting five people. The two sides are expected to present their opening statements today as well.
Morva faces seven charges, including three counts of capital murder, in the deaths of two men: Montgomery Regional Hospital security guard Derrick McFarland and Cpl. Eric Sutphin of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
William Morva (left) sits at his defense council table with defense attorneys Tom Blaylock (center) and Tony Anderson (right) during the third day of jury selection in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christiansburg Va.
Police say Morva killed McFarland during his escape from a deputy's custody at the hospital early on the morning of Aug. 20, 2006; and Sutphin the next morning on the Huckleberry Trail.
A manhunt for Morva prompted Virginia Tech to cancel classes on the first day of school and caused the evacuation of Squires Student Center after a false report that he had been spotted there.
Throughout the three days of jury selection, Morva wore a shirt and tie and sat quietly next to his defense attorneys.
Wednesday, a television news camera captured Morva appearing to fall asleep during jury selection. Morva jerked and turned his head when a deputy who had been standing behind him walked by and tapped him on the shoulder.
On video footage taken Wednesday, Morva can be seen slowly scratching his eye with his middle finger, staring directly into the camera, at least twice.
Word that he'd extended his middle finger to the camera spread throughout the courthouse during a 10-minute recess. When court reconvened, Morva's attorneys could be heard telling him about it.
His mouth fell open and he shook his head in apparent disbelief.
After that, the deputies stationed in the courtroom seemed to watch Morva's actions more closely.
Many of the potential jurors were excused because of ties to the many agencies involved in the case.
Anderson and Blaylock asked potential jurors if they knew anyone affiliated with the Blacksburg, Virginia Tech or Christiansburg police departments; the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office; the Virginia State Police; Montgomery Regional Hospital; the Montgomery County school system; Virginia Tech; or private security firms.
Potential jurors have also been asked if they signed online guest books for the families of McFarland or Sutphin or participated in any of the many fundraising events that have been held for them.
People who made monetary donations to the funds were not automatically excused, but those who participated in all-day, motorcycle poker run fundraisers were.
The last person selected for the jury pool said he participated in a four-hour fundraiser at his gym. Because the event was in-house at the man's gym and was something he would normally do for exercise anyway, Grubbs said he was an acceptable juror.
The potential jurors were questioned in groups of three.
Over the three days, a total of 60 people were excused from serving on the case for reasons ranging from their views on the death penalty or an inability to leave work for up to three weeks.
That number is in addition to an unknown number of people who were excused without being called to court based on their answers to a four-page questionnaire all potential jurors filled out.
