Jury selection opens in Lee trial

PORT ALLEN, La., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Jury selection began Monday in the first trial of a suspected serial killer in southern Louisiana.

Derrick Todd Lee is charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing and beating death of Geralyn DeSoto in January 2002. If convicted, he would face a maximum life sentence, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported.

Six prospective jurors survived the first round of questioning for the trial, which is expected to last several weeks. Jury selection will take three to five days.

Prospective jurors told prosecutor Tony Clayton they would not allow extensive national media coverage of the case to interfere with their decisions.

The trial is the first of four for Lee, who has been linked to as many as seven slayings by Louisiana police.

Lee will face another trial next month in Baton Rouge for the 2001 slaying of Charlotte Murray Pace. If convicted in that trial, he could face the death penalty.