Fravel on Trial, Day 5: Friday sees most jurors sat in a single day
(ABC 6 News) — Adam Fravel, the man charged with murdering the mother of his children, was on trial for the fifth day on Friday.
Though Friday saw the most jurors sat in a single day, the process has been anything but quick. It was supposed to be the final day of jury selection, but now, that process is being extended into next week.
A court official said it has been one of the slowest jury selections he’s seen in all of his 20 years.
As things stand heading into the weekend, 11 jurors have been sat with four being added on Friday. The panel remains female-dominated with six women compared to five men.
On the jury sits a retail sales rep, a retired physician’s assistant and store owner, a paralegal, a mother, a delivery driver, a mortgage banker, and now today, an office manager, a nurse, and a metal fabricator.
Opening statements are now scheduled for next Thursday instead of Monday.
A major reason behind the delays during jury selection have come due to Fravel’s defense. Potential jurors continued to meet extensive questioning from Fravel’s defense team and strikes for several jurors.
As we’ve reported, the defense is able to strike out 15 jurors from the trial. This week, they have used 10 of those strikes.
Meanwhile, the state has utilized three of its nine possible strikes.
The majority of those struck either knew too much about the case, experienced or knew someone experiencing domestic violence, or admitted they thought Fravel was guilty.
ABC 6 News will be in Mankato for the duration of the trial, and you can find full coverage here.