Arguments to Begin in Merriman Case

Opening statements are scheduled to begin this morning in the trial of murder suspect Justin Merriman.

The 28-year-old Ventura resident and white power gang member is accused of raping Katrina Montgomery, a 19-year-old Santa Monica College student, at his home in November 1992.

Prosecutors say Merriman stabbed and beat Montgomery to death to prevent her from reporting the sexual assault to police, then forced two gang members to help him dispose of the body near Sylmar.

Montgomery’s blood-stained pickup truck was found abandoned in the Angeles National Forest following her disappearance Nov. 28, 1992. But her body was never found.

The case stymied investigators for years. But a series of breaks came in 1997 and 1998 when Ventura County prosecutors reopened the case and chased down old leads.

Merriman was indicted for murder by the Ventura County Grand Jury in January 1999. He faces 25 criminal counts in connection with the slaying as well as charges stemming from two alleged sexual assaults on women in 1994 and 1995.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Jury selection began in late November before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. Lawyers finished picking a jury Wednesday morning.

The panel of eight men and four women, as well as four alternate jurors, will hear testimony for about a month. If they find Merriman guilty of murder and at least one special circumstance allegation, the trial will advance to a second penalty phase.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in O’Neill’s courtroom.