ORLANDO, Fla. — A jury was selected Thursday afternoon in the first of two murder trials for Markeith Loyd, a process that happened much faster than expected.
- 1st trial is for death of pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon
- Opening statements in trial set to start Friday morning
- About 500 potential jurors were summoned for murder trial
- MORE MARKEITH LOYD COVERAGE:
- Jury Selection in Markeith Loyd Trial In Second Week
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- Jury Selection For the Trial of Markeith Loyd Begins on Friday
- Judge Denies Request to Combine 2 Markeith Loyd Trials
- Markeith Loyd to Undergo Mental Evaluation After Courtroom Outburst
- Police Force Against Markeith Loyd Ruled "Lawful and Justified"
- New Docs Shed Light Into Orlando Cops' Use of Force Against Loyd
- Markeith Loyd Attorneys: Keep OPD Slaying Out of Sade Dixon Trial
- JUMP TO:
Loyd, 43, is on trial for the 2016 murder of 24-year-old Sade Dixon, his ex-girlfriend, and the loss of the child she was carrying. He is also accused of killing Orlando Police Department officer Lt. Deborah Clayton, but he will have a separate trial for that.
Opening statements in his first murder trial are expected to start Friday morning.
Judge Leticia Marques told potential jurors in the Orange County Courthouse that if they were chosen, they'd go into immediate sequestration.
Marques at one point said the jury selection process was going slower than she'd hoped, saying it could take up to four weeks. But on the eighth full day of jury selection — just a week and a half in — a jury was seated.
From a pool of about 500 potential jurors, a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates were chosen for the trial. The jury is made up of 12 women, four men. Seven are white, five are black and four are Hispanic. Loyd's defense attorneys indicate they'll bring up race as a factor if their client is convicted and a death penalty is considered.
During jury selection, potential jurors said they heard Loyd is accused of shooting and killing Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton. But her murder can’t be considered in Dixon's trial.
Loyd will be tried separately in Clayton's death.
When the judge asked Loyd whether he was OK with the jury selected, he expressed concern about whether jurors could keep Clayton’s death out of their minds.
"Everyone knows about both sides of the case as far as through the news," Loyd said from the stand.
"Do you or do you not object to this jury panel?" Marques said.
"I object to everything going on in this courtroom," Loyd replied.
"OK," Marques said.
The court moved forward, and the jurors took their oath.
The jury was dismissed at about 3 p.m. to a hotel. There, they will be sequestered for the course of the trial, which could last two to three weeks.
Timeline: Major Moments in the Markeith Loyd Investigation