Jury Selection Starts in Trial of Model’s Accused Killer
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Charles E. Rathbun, 38, a freelance photographer who has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting and killing model Linda Sobek in November.
Sixty potential jurors, the first of 200 people who will fill out questionnaires over the next three days, filed into the courtroom of Torrance Superior Court Judge Donald F. Pitts. He estimated that the trial will last until Oct. 18 and asked those jurors who are not dismissed for economic or personal reasons to return Sept. 24 for questioning.
Before the potential jurors arrived, Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Kay won a motion that bars any reference being made during opening statements and questioning of witnesses about Sobek’s suicide attempt when she was 17.
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