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Man accused in cannibal plot goes on trial
Jury selection began Tuesday for the trial of a man accused of killing a 10-year-old girl whose mutilated body was found stuffed into a plastic tub. Kevin Underwood could face the death penalty if found guilty of murdering a 10-year-old girl.  Kevin Underwood is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jamie Rose Bolin in what police have described as a cannibalistic plot. Prosecutors have said they would seek the death penalty for the April 2006 killing. The girl's nearly decapitated body was discovered inside a plastic tub in a bedroom closet of Underwood's apartment in Purcell, a suburb 40 miles south of Oklahoma City. The case was moved from Purcell in McClain County to Norman, about 20 miles away, because of pretrial publicity. About 140 jurors reported to Cleveland County District Court. Judge Candace Blalock said she planned to question them in groups of 15 beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing Wednesday. Shortly after Jamie's disappearance, Underwood drew the suspicion of police officers at a traffic checkpoint and let them search his apartment, where they found the child's nude body. Authorities have alleged that the 28-year-old former grocery store stocker planned to rape the girl's corpse and eat her flesh. According to an autopsy report, Jamie was struck on the head and her neck was cut to the bone from ear to ear. The official cause of death was listed as asphyxia. Her body showed signs of sexual assault, but the medical examiner was not able to determine if the injuries happened before the girl died. Underwood has pleaded not guilty, but his attorneys have not revealed their defense strategy; the judge in the case has issued a gag order. The defense has sought to remove execution as a possible punishment. Legal observers said moving the trial to the next county will have little if any impact because residents of both counties read the same newspapers, watch the same television stations and listen to the same radio shows. In addition, they said, the graphic nature of the case will make it difficult to impanel an unbiased jury. "The more horrific the alleged facts, the more incentive there is for a jury to ensure justice by convicting the person before them," said Art LeFrancois, an Oklahoma City University law professor specializing in criminal procedure. "I don't envy these jurors one bit," said Irven Box, an Oklahoma City defense attorney who has closely followed the case. "The job of jurors is going to be hard. The evidence they will see and hear is going to make them squirm and maybe even get sick because it's so graphic |
