More than four years after a 19-year-old nude model died after a photo shoot in a Radford studio, the high-profile trial of photographer Bob Shell is set to begin Monday.

An internationally known photographer and author, Shell, 60, is charged with felony homicide. Authorities allege he provided the morphine on which his lover, model and studio manager Marion Elizabeth Franklin overdosed on June 3, 2003.

He is also accused of committing sex crimes that day against Franklin in his West Main Street studio.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday. The panel will be chosen from a pool of more than 150, Radford Sheriff Mark Armentrout said.

Onlookers and the mediaare also expected, and Armentrout's department is working on a plan to deal with an overflow crowd, he said. Jury selection may have to be done in two stages to abide by fire codes restricting the number of people allowed in the courtroom. Extra deputies will be brought in for security.

Cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom because of the sexual nature of the case.

Shell was originally scheduled to stand trial in March 2004, but the contentious and complicated case has dragged on through various motions and continuances. Three different defense attorneys and two separate prosecutors have worked on it. Shell's current defense attorney is Jonathon Venzie of Independence, who was appointed in September after Shell said he didn't have enough money to hire an attorney.

In a final motions hearing held Thursday, just two working days before the scheduled start of the trial, Venzie argued that Radford Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Rehak should be removed from the case. Circuit Judge Joey Showalter denied the motion.

In the past three years, Shell has threatened to sue police for copyright infringement for copying photos for the investigation, accused officers of violating his civil rights in an improper computer sting and alleged that police manipulated evidence that may have helped exonerate him.

Franklin, a teenager from Boone, N.C., left home at an early age and struggled with drug addiction, according to details that have emerged since her death. She moved to Radford in 2002 to work for Shell.

Franklin died after posing for a photo shoot that included bondage scenes. Police allege that Shell gave Franklin drugs to relax her and had sex with her after she died. Cocaine, morphine and other drugs were found in her bloodstream, police say.

Shell has repeatedly said Franklin took a lethal dose of liquid morphine that belonged to his late mother, who suffered from cancer, without his knowledge, and that they had consensual sex. He has also said he tried to help her overcome her drug addiction.

But Susanne Coutts, a bondage expert and model from Washington state who was in the studio the day Franklin died, has disputed Shell's account. Coutts, who has been granted immunity in exchange for testimony, has told police she saw Shell open a small dropper bottle and squeeze drops of liquid into a glass of wine Franklin drank that day.

Shell has continued working as a writer and photographer while out on bond, though he is unable to leave the state. Shell was placed on house arrest when he was first charged in connection with Franklin's death, but his restrictions were gradually relaxed.

His book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Massage Illustrated," was published in April.

His Radford studio continues to be listed as available for photo shoots on OneModelPlace.com, a site that connects photographers with nude models. Shell's online profile lists him as technology editor of Digital Camera Magazine and says he wants to help new models break into the business.

His Web site, BobShell.com, includes a memorial page dedicated to Franklin that includes a photo of Shell and Franklin together.

tonia.moxley@roanoke.com 381-1676

shawna.morrison@roanoke.com 381-1665