Jurors were selected at Halifax’s Nova Scotia Supreme Court yesterday to serve in the trial of Desmond Maguire, who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jennifer Horne, 20.
Out of about 300 candidates, seven men and four women were chosen to serve as the jury, as well as two male alternates.
There is currently a publication ban on the trial proceedings.
The selection process did not begin until just before 11 a.m., and the process was slow, with only two chosen by noon. It took until just after 3 p.m. before a panel of jurors, the Crown and defence lawyers selected the 14 jurors and alternates. About two-dozen candidates were deemed unacceptable to serve.
“I wasn’t terribly surprised by the number,” said Crown lawyer Robert Morrison. “We thought there was the possibility there, but we didn’t think it would be the majority of people who would have a preformed opinion of things.”
This came one day after Ashley Haley, Maguire’s common-law wife, pleaded guilty to the same crime.
The trial begins today at 9:30 a.m. with the opening statements and the display of evidence.
