UPDATE: Jury seated in capital murder case

UPDATED 5:55 P.M.

BY MATT TOMSIC

(434) 791-7993

CHATHAM — Prosecutors and defense attorneys chose the jury Tuesday after finishing the second day of jury selection in the capital murder case of Dennis Lee Daniel.

Daniel, 43, is facing charges of capital murder, abduction, robbery and carjacking in the December death of Courtney Marie Servais. She went missing Dec. 19 and was found Dec. 24.

Judge Charles J. Strauss is presiding over the trial in Pittsylvania County Circuit Court.

By 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, the required 26 potential jurors qualified to hear Daniel’s case had been picked. Judge Strauss brought them to the courtroom while the defense and prosecution each cut six jurors, leaving them with 14, which includes two alternates.

The two days of jury selection are the longest that process has ever taken, Strauss said during proceedings. He thanked the jurors for their patience.

Clerk of Court H.F. Haymore Jr. walked from the prosecution to the defense and back holding a piece of blue paper, which had the names of the 26 jurors who qualified for duty. David Grimes, the commonwealth’s attorney for Pittsylvania County, and Steve Milani, an attorney representing Daniel, made their strikes on that blue sheet.

The trial will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m., when the court will hear opening statements, and the prosecution will begin presenting its evidence.

Tomsic is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee