Murder jury selection a relatively tough task

FINDING a jury for the first murder trial in 150 years on Norfolk Island was never going to be easy — residents are mainly descendants of a small band of 18th-century mutineers, related or know everyone.

Of the 100 potential jurors summonsed yesterday to the small courthouse on the island off Australia’s east coast, 72 had excuses why they couldn’t be part of the jury.

Some said they knew the victim or her family, some said they knew the accused or his family, and others said they had worked with someone who knew either the victim or the accused.

Some openly admitted they had already made up their mind about the guilt or innocence of the accused.

A woman who had been booked to make the sandwiches for the jury’s lunch was told she did not have a strong enough case to be excused and said she could find someone else to make sandwiches.

New Zealander, Glenn McNeill, 29, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering Australian restaurant manager, Janelle Patton, in March 2002.

Addressing the jury pool in the Supreme Court, Judge Mark Weinberg said the 12 jurors picked would have to decide the case solely on evidence and disregard any information they may have heard in the close-knit community of about 1,600.

“You would have had to be living on another planet not to have heard anything at all about this case before,” he said.

Ms Patton’s battered body was found wrapped in black plastic at a picnic spot a day after the 29-year-old vanished while walking along a quiet island road.