LUVERNE -- It took four days and 82 prospective jurors, but finally a jury of 14 -- 12 jurors and two alternates -- has been seated in Rock County District Court for the trial of accused murderer Randy LeeRoyal Swaney.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today. The trial is on the court calendar until Aug. 15.
Swaney is accused of murdering Blue Mounds State Park worker Carrie Nelson in May 2001. He was not charged with Nelson's murder until six years later, when DNA from a watch found at the scene of the crime was matched with his own DNA while he was in a South Dakota prison on unrelated charges.
For the past year, Swaney has been incarcerated in the Nobles County Jail, not able to make the $1 million bail set by Judge Timothy Connell, who will preside over the trial.
While each prospective juror was questioned by the defense on their feelings about a person who did not testify on behalf of himself, one member of the defense team said whether Swaney takes the stand or not remains to be seen. Statements made by the prosecution indicate the possibility of Swaney taking the stand is doubtful.
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The prosecution will be handled by Minnesota Assistant Attorney Generals Bill Klumpp and Matthew Frank and Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer. Swaney's team of public defenders consists of Louis Kuchera, Robert Docherty and John Scholl.
Leading up to the trial, a flurry of documents have been filed in this case regarding what should and should not be admissible during court.
The prosecution filed a memorandum regarding speculative evidence that a third person committed the crime. The state believes the defense will try to blame a third person, Anthony Flowers, for Nelson's murder. Flowers was convicted in 2001 of kidnapping a woman in Sioux Falls, S.D. and forcing her to drive him to Iowa. He has bank robbing convictions and has escaped from prison at least once.
The defense stated last week that Flowers had confessed involvement in the Nelson case to two people and admitted he was with another person when the murder happened.
Klumpp said he was skeptical of the credibility of the parties involved, and believes there was some kind of plot between Flowers and another man to get Flowers out of the state penitentiary.
The state also filed a notice of evidence of additional offenses to be offered at trial. The document states that Swaney, while in the Nobles County Jail, threatened to "bash in the...face" of a fellow inmate and slit the throat of a correctional officer.
In April, the document claims, Swaney told other inmates he was a murderer who had "bashed in that girl's head" and that "bashing yours would not be all that bad." He also threatened to "bash in" the head of a correctional officer who had taken the television remote control away from Swaney due to misuse.
In February 2000, Swaney pleaded guilty in Lac Qui Parle County District Court to theft -- a plea bargain that led to the dismissal of a third-degree burglary charge. Court documents state the Lac Qui Parle High School was burglarized in November 1999 and 21 band instruments were stolen. A search of Swaney's apartment in Sioux Falls, S.D., turned up a number of tags with the names of individuals that owned the instruments. Swaney admitted his involvement in the theft of the instruments, valued at more than $12,000, and a stereo receiver.
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Klumpp said the pre-sentence investigation from that conviction contains evidence that Swaney had a gambling problem, something the prosecution was already aware of. Nelson's murder, the prosecution believes, was a burglary gone awry.
