Local News in Brief : Judge Sets Trial Date in Kraft Murder Case

An Orange County Superior Court judge has set July 21 to begin jury selection in the trial of accused serial killer Randy Kraft, whose case has been mired in the courts for about five years.

Judge Donald A. McCartin set the date after refusing to hear defense arguments that the case was being unnecessarily rushed to trial. About 5,000 prospective jurors are expected to be considered before 12 are finally selected. The trial is expected to last two years.

Kraft, 42, has been in Orange County Jail since he was arrested in Mission Viejo five years ago when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over for a routine traffic violation and discovered the body of a dead Marine in his car.

Kraft is accused of 37 murders in three states. He is charged with 16 murders in Orange County between 1972 and 1983. Proceedings are now being conducted in another courtroom on a motion by Kraft’s defense team to suppress evidence.

The hearing has been under way for several weeks and will not be completed for at least a week. Part of the reason for the hearing delay has been the illness of Judge James K. Turner, who underwent quadruple heart-bypass surgery in December. The judge was sidelined from the case for four months before returning to the bench in late April.