Isidro Delacruz is accused of cutting the throat of a 5-year-old girl, named Naiya Villegas back in 2014.
Hundreds of people were selected for the jury pool and after weeks of interviews, a jury of 12 with two alternates was seated Monday morning. That panel of 14 is made up of 9 women and 5 men.
Opening statements began around 2 o'clock Monday afternoon. District Attorney Allison Palmer began by telling the jury, the witnesses she was going to call first were there to verify the validity of the evidence and they weren't going to be seeing any photos or videos Monday. She then told the jury that part quote, "is not going to be easy on you." she mentioned that Naiya had been in kindergarten quote "all of one week" before the was killed.
The defense then spoke to the jury saying there wasn't any doubt that Delacruz was at the home that night, but there were more pieces to the puzzle. The defense asked the jury to ask themselves; even though Delacruz was in the home at the time Naiya was killed, what role did he play? The defense closed by relating the case back to the puzzle, saying quote "missing pieces mean something."
Delacruz is charged with capital murder and the state is seeking the death penalty. The trial is expected to last for several weeks.