C. Aaron Rovenstine

WARSAW — A 12-member jury, comprised of eight women and four men, was seated by 4:30 p.m. today, Monday, April 3, in the jury selection for the trial of Kosciusko County Sheriff C. Aaron Rovenstine. Opening statements by the prosecution and defense counsels will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 4. The trial is expected to last two weeks and will remain in Kosciusko County.

It took nine rounds of voir dire before the jury was selected and two more rounds of questioning potential jurors for the three alternate positions. The alternates are two men and one woman. Special Judge Stephen Bowers stated the three alternates would be chosen due to the length of the trial.

By 5 p.m. the jury and alternates were seated and sworn in. The judge and counsel for both sides will meet Tuesday to go over procedural matters and allow jurors to arrange their schedules.

Bowers thanked the potential jurors for their participation and while they may feel it was a “terrible waste of time, the system would not work if you could not be here.” He noted while some rounds went quickly, others did not but the participation of those who were called was “extremely meaningful.”

Questioning of the potential witnesses went quickly during the afternoon voir dire, with the prosecution and defense asking little or no questions. When questions were asked of potential jurors, they dealt with the type of evidence he/she would expect to see relating to the charges and what that individual would use to determine if a witness was telling the truth, exaggerating or omitting information.