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.