Young woman on trial for brutal killing of elderly man

Express:

After the first day of jury selection for the Shonda Walter capital murder trial, six potential jurors have been eliminated from consideration.

Two groups of about 115 prospective jurors were questioned at length by Clinton County President Judge Richard Saxton during separate sessions Friday.

Walter, 25, formerly of 703 Bellefonte Ave. Apt. 4, Lock Haven, sat at a table in front of the prospective jurors wearing a yellow sweater vest over a white shirt, and tan pants.

Police allege Walter killed James Sementelli, 83, 17 N. Summit St., on March 25, 2003, stole his car and took over $500 in quarters. His body wasn’t discovered until six days later.

Walter is charged with first-, second, and third-degree murder, along with theft by unlawful taking and criminal homicide. Clinton County District Attorney Ted McKnight is seeking the death penalty in the case.

Walter was surrounded by her lead defense attorney, Public Defender Steven Smith; assistant defender James Bryant; private investigator Bob Santone; and jury consultant Steven Son from Decision Quest, a State College-based jury consulting firm.

McKnight and temporary Assistant Special District Attorney Joe McGettigan are representing the commonwealth. McKnight was not present during the afternoon session. Also on hand for the prosecution were county detective John Keeler and city detective Sgt. Charles Shoemaker.

Five prospective jurors were excused after the morning session — one because he was hard of hearing. One additional juror was excused during the afternoon session, that juror again because of her hearing difficulties.

Saxton posed 38 questions to the jury pool. Nearly all the potential jurors said they had either read or heard about the case through the media, and knew at least one person on the potential witness list.

Over one-third of the 235 prospective jurors said they have already formed an opinion on the guilt or innocence of Walter.

Thirty-two people in the morning session said they would be unable to put their feelings behind them and decide the fate of Walter based solely on the evidence presented at trial, scheduled to begin on April 18. However, only one person in the afternoon session answered that way.

Another question posed to the prospective jurors was whether they had negative feelings on the case because Walter, who is black, is accused of killing Sementelli, who was white. Only one prospective juror in each session said they had an issue with race.

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