ORLANDO, Fla. – After a week and a half of jury selection, 12 main jurors and 4 alternates were seated late Wednesday afternoon in the murder trial of a man accused of killing a would-be witness who was set to testify against him.
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Bessman Okafor is accused of going into an Ocoee home back in 2012 and shooting three people, killing 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar.
Prosecutors say Okafor shot Zaldivar and the 2 other victims to keep them from testifying against him.
If convicted, Okafor could be sentenced to death.
Attorneys went through hundreds of potential jurors, excusing many of them because of concerns they could not sentence Okafor to the death penalty, if they convict him.
"I just want to make sure you've had an opportunity to go over all of this and understand what's going on?" the judge asked Okafor, before seating the jury.
"Yes sir," replied Okafor.
Attorneys have said testimony in the case could take about a month. Opening statements start Thursday morning.
What jurors will not know is that Okafor is already serving a life sentence for the first time he went into Zaldivar's home, convicted in the trial in 2013 in which Zaldivar was supposed to testify against Okafor.