Jury selection will continue in Brooksville murder trial

Jury selection will continue Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of shooting four women two years ago in a Brooksville-area neighborhood.

The selection process took more than nine hours Tuesday, but after all the interviews and challenges made by the state and the defense, a jury panel could not be filled.

John Kalisz, 57, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the killings. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Immediately after the Jan. 14, 2010 slayings, Kalisz drove 96 miles north to Cross City, where he was involved in a gunfight with pursuing deputies, authorities said. Capt. Chad Reed, of the Dixie County Sheriff's Office, was fatally wounded.

Kalisz, who was shot several times and barely survived his own injuries, pleaded guilty last year to killing Reed and was sentenced to life in prison.

The State Attorney's Office in the 5th Judicial Circuit chose to take the Hernando County case to trial. Prosecutor Pete Magrino has said the defendant's crimes warrant a death sentence.

Jurors will listen to arguments, review evidence, hear testimony and decide whether Kalisz is guilty of premeditated murder. If he is found guilty, jurors will then decide whether to recommend life in prison or death.

Capital murder trials in Florida usually consist of 12 jurors plus two or three alternates. Ten jurors – five men and five women – already have been paneled for Kalisz's trial, although they could still be "back struck" by attorneys.

A jury pool made up of about 50 people packed the courtroom Tuesday in Hernando County Circuit Court.

About two-dozen prospective jurors were called upon to sit in the jury box. Five of them raised their hands when the group was asked whether they were familiar with the case through news reports and one of them said he doubted he could render a fair verdict if he was chosen to serve on the jury.

Four of the five were subsequently dismissed.

When it was his turn to ask jurors questions, defense attorney Alan Fanter spent a lot of his time on the subject of the death penalty.

"I'm not overly in favor of it, but I'm not willing to vote to eliminate it," one prospective juror told Fanter.

"I agree with the death penalty under certain circumstances, if the (crime) is barbaric, for instance," another one answered.

Another juror raised his hand to answer the question. He recalled a conversation he had years earlier with a friend, who was opposed to capital punishment based on the possibility of the state executing an innocent man or woman.

"If there is a death penalty, you can't go back," the prospective juror told Fanter. He was among the 10 potential jurors who were kept.

Opening arguments are expected to be made later in the day Wednesday and will be followed by the state's evidence. The trial itself could last up to two weeks, according to the State Attorney's Office.