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Jury Selection in Murray State Dorm Arson Trial

Posted: 12:41 PM Jul 9, 2012
Reporter: Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Attorneys are selecting a jury in the trial of a western Kentucky man accused of starting a fatal fire when he attended Murray State in the late 1990s.

Jerry Wayne Walker is facing arson, manslaughter, and wanton endangerment charges for the 1998 fire that killed student Michael Minger. Walker was originally tried for murder in 2001 but the jury stalemated.

State police revisited the case and brought the new charges last year, more than a decade after Walker was originally charged.

Walker, now 35, was working as an assistant principal and minister at his church in Paducah when he was charged in September. His attorney says the trial should show that someone else is to blame for the fire.

The trial was moved to Marshall County from Murray.