It took two months to pick the 12 regular jurors for the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second Cheshire home invasion defendant. Who are these 12 people?
They are five men and seven women from New Haven and the surrounding area, residing as far away as Meriden to the north and Madison to the east, according to news reports and sources knowledgeable about the jury selection process.
Juror 1, the first selected, is a male doctor who works for the Yale School of Medicine, the first of six jurors with a connection to the university or its medical school. He was picked on March 17, the second day of jury selection.
The first juror is a New Haven resident. He reportedly told defense attorneys that he knew of the Cheshire case from news stories but had not followed it closely. He also said he felt news reports don’t always depict events as they happened, so he would have an open mind when considering the evidence.
As for the death penalty, the first juror said it should be reserved for only the worst cases.
Juror 2, selected on March 21, is also male and a New Haven resident. He is a college student studying social work and criminal justice.
Juror 3, the first woman selected for the jury, is a New Haven resident with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice. She was chosen for the jury on Wednesday, March 23, exactly one week after jury selection began.
The third juror works for the state Department of Social Services and she said the state would pay her salary for up to three months while she serves on the jury. At least half of the jurors excused from consideration on the jury have said they are financially unable to take off from work for the whole three-month-long trial.
That is also apparently a reason so many of the jurors have a connection to Yale, which apparently has a liberal policy about paying salaries for jury service.
Juror 4, the second woman, is a physician from Madison. She was picked on April 4.
Juror 5, a woman selected on April 7, is a mental health counselor who told the court she was unfamiliar with the Cheshire home invasion case because she was living in New York when it happened in 2007.
She was described as a mental health care worker who has lived in New Haven since 2008. She told the court she didn’t think it was right to kill someone, but she promised to consider imposing the death sentence based on the evidence of the case.
Juror 6 was unemployed on April 13 when she was selected for the jury. She resides in Bethany.
Juror 7 is a Hamden woman picked for the jury on April 19. News reports said she was employed as an architect for Yale University.
Juror 8 is a 27-year-old man who lives in Branford. He was picked on April 21.
Juror 9 is also a Branford resident, described as 30 years old and single. She was picked for the jury on April 28.
Juror 10 is a 52-year-old man who lives in Meriden. He was picked for the jury on May 4 and is employed as a truck mechanic.
Juror 11 is a woman employed as an administrator at the Yale School of Medicine. She was picked for the jury on May 5.
Juror 12 was picked for the jury on Tuesday, May 10. News reports described him as a 44-year-old assistant tennis coach for the Yale University team. He told the court that he considers himself a "facts person."
Jury selection hasn’t concluded yet. Defense lawyers and prosecutors must still pick six alternate jurors and three backup alternates.
