COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a crowded courtroom in the Old Lexington County Courthouse, Judge Eugene Griffith read the indictments against Timothy Ray Jones Jr.
In those indictments, it was alleged Jones strangled four of his children and injured the 5th, causing death.
The indictments claim the murders happened sometime between August 28 and August 29, 2014.
Roughly 185 potential jurors were summoned to court on Monday, according to Griffith.
The 185 were split into 22 8-personal panels.
Defense attorneys and state prosecutors will begin questioning the 8-person panels on Tuesday at 9am.
It's unclear when the actual trial will begin, according to Judge Griffith.
"It is important this jury decides a fair trial," Griffith told the gathered jurors in the afternoon.
He urged them not to review news articles, television news stories, or social media posts about the case for the duration of their time spent in court.
At one point, roughly 75 of the jurors said they had seen coverage of the case in the news already.
Since prosecutors are trying this is a capital murder case with potential for the death penalty, jurors will be questioned one by one during their 8-person panel meeting time.
Jury selection could take the next several days. After that, court officials have said the trial could take three and a half weeks to complete.