MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Jury selection will stretch in to a third day in the trial of Jeffrey Willis, who's accused of kidnapping and killing Jessica Heeringa five years ago.
Attorneys and the judge started the selection process Tuesday. By the end of Wednesday, 40 people were in the pool. It could take all day Thursday to set the final pool of 60, which would then need to be narrowed to 14: 12 jurors and two alternates.
Opening statements were tentatively scheduled for Thursday but may not happen until Friday or even next week as jury selection drags on.
Willis has been shuttled back and forth to Muskegon County Circuit Court from a state prison in Ionia. His defense attorney is working to get him housed closer for the duration of the trial, but that has so far proved difficult.
Heeringa, 25, vanished from the Norton Shores gas station where she worked on the night of April 26, 2013. Her remains have not been found, so prosecutors will have to rely on circumstantial evidence in their case against Willis.
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