Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Judge in Kraft Case Delays Ruling on Jurors

The judge in the Randy Steven Kraft murder trial met Monday with the two jurors who asked to be excused from the trial for hardship reasons but delayed until Wednesday a decision on whether to relieve them.

The two jurors--one on the regular jury of 12 and one among the eight alternates--reported to the court Thursday that they did not discover until after they were selected that the length of the trial would cause them problems at work. Testimony in the trial is expected to take from six months to a year.

The regular juror said he discovered that his employer, Hughes Aircraft Corp., would not pay him if he were away from work that long. The alternate, who works for Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics, said he discovered that he would miss out on a promotion opportunity. The judge is waiting for more information from their companies before reaching a decision.

Kraft, 43, is on trial, charged with 16 Orange County murders. Opening statements and the start of testimony had been scheduled for Monday, but because of the problem with the two jurors, Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin postponed the proceedings until next Monday. McCartin has asked 41 other prospective jurors to appear in court Wednesday for jury selection in case he does excuse either or both of the jurors.