Update at 3:45 p.m. — Two people — one male and one female — and three alternates have been added to the jury.
A total of eight men and four women will serve as jurors during Benjamin Cayea’s murder trial.
Judge Joseph Cassidy dismissed the rest of the jury pool.
Update at 11:20 a.m. — Three more people have been added to the jury for Benjamin Cayea’s murder trial.
Two men and one woman are joining jurors selected early Wednesday and Tuesday afternoon.
A total of seven men and three woman have been selected to serve on the jury.
A court clerk confirmed that about 45 new people have joined the pool of potential jurors. The new group of people began arriving around 11 a.m.
Questioning this morning again focused on issues such as domestic violence, mental illness, the use of marijuana, and sex acts that some might consider non-traditional or dangerous.
Some jurors expressed discomfort at looking at graphic images and one woman, who said she knew the victim Shannon Jones, was permitted to be excused from jury questioning. She immediately left the courthouse in tears.
A total of 12 jurors and at least two alternates are expected to be selected by the end of the day Tuesday for a trial Judge Joseph Cassidy said is expected to last two to three weeks. The trial start Friday.
Ithaca Voice Reporter Jolene Almendarez is covering the trial. She will be providing live updates of the case on Tuesday here:
ITHACA, N.Y. — Three more people have been selected Wednesday morning to join the jury for Benjamin Cayea’s murder trial.
Cayea is charged with second-degree murder and is accused of strangling his girlfriend, Shannon Jones, on Thanksgiving Day.
Two men and one woman were selected to join three men and one woman who were chosen to be on the jury Tuesday.
A total of 12 jurors and at least two alternates are expected to be selected by the end of the day Tuesday for a trial Judge Joseph Cassidy said is expected to last two to three weeks. The trial start Friday.
Related: Tompkins lawyers say jurors must decide if Benjamin Cayea intended to kill girlfriend
In court yesterday, defense attorney Matt Van Houten and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Bonavia kept circling around one primary idea when questioning potential jurors: whether they would be able to use evidence presented to determine Cayea’s intent on the night Shannon Jones was strangled.
“This issue about intent to cause the death of Shannon — that’s going to be a big issue in this trial,” Bonavia said. “I don’t believe there’s going to be an issue over who caused her death.”
According to police records, Cayea admitted to strangling Jones after the two got in a fight.
Van Houten and Bonavia asked jurors yesterday a series of questions that regarded topics including domestic violence, mental illness, the use of marijuana, and sex acts that some might consider non-traditional or dangerous.
Round-up of previous coverage
Crowd fills Cayuga Heights courtroom for Benjamin Cayea hearing – Wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Benjamin Cayea entered the village of Cayuga Heights courtroom. Ithaca Voice
Police records: Cayuga Heights man admitted to strangling Cornell student to death – Police described the murder as an incident of domestic violence. Ithaca Voice
Family, friends, teachers mourn death of bright Cornell student from Washington, D.C., area – Shannon Jones was loved by those who knew her. Ithaca Voice
Leader of Tompkins advocacy center on the importance of fighting domestic violence – “There is help and there is support.”Ithaca Voice