Jury in Peterson’s Murder Trial Selected

A jury of six men and six women was chosen Thursday to determine whether Scott Peterson killed his wife and the couple’s unborn son.

The panel, which also includes six alternates, will return Tuesday to hear opening statements in the high-profile case that is expected to last six months.

The jurors, ranging in age from their 20s to more than 60, include a high school coach, a former airport screener and a retired utility worker.

Peterson, 31, a former fertilizer salesman from Modesto, is accused of murdering his wife, Laci, and her unborn son about Dec. 24, 2002, and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. If convicted, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty.

About 1,600 people were called as prospective jurors during the nine-week selection process. Most were excused because they could not afford to be away from work for six months, could not impose the death penalty or had a bias.

The remaining group of 76 that appeared in court Thursday was whittled down by prosecuting and defense attorneys as they exercised their peremptory challenges. They did not have to give reasons why they dismissed prospective jurors.

Judge Alfred Delucchi told the group that was selected: “You 18 people are going to be the jury. Unless you’re dead, you’re it. There will be no further excuses from the jury.”

After the jury was chosen, Delucchi ruled on a motion by defense attorney Mark Geragos asking to be allowed to call a neighbor of the Petersons, Diane Jackson, who saw three men near a van by the Petersons’ house the day Laci Peterson disappeared.

When a defense investigator questioned Jackson last year, she told him “she had the feeling that they were up to no good,” according to Monday’s court filing by Geragos.

Delucchi agreed to allow Geragos to admit the statements.