Jury Chosen In Double Murder

Prosecutors and defense attorneys Thursday finished picking a jury for the Dwayne Woods double-murder trial.

Jury selection lasted more than two weeks, largely because Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser will seek the death penalty if Woods is convicted of two counts of aggravated murder.

The nine-woman, three-man Superior Court jury was chosen from a group of 99 potential jurors.

Woods, 26, is accused of killing Telisha Shaver, 22, and Jade Moore, 18, with a baseball bat on April 27, 1995. The beatings occurred inside a Spokane Valley mobile home.

Woods, who denies committing the crimes, is also charged with one count of rape and the attempted murder of Telisha’s sister, Venus Shaver, 20.

Police arrested Woods later that day. Before she died, Jade Moore told police the attacker was a man named Dwayne.

The initial phase of the trial will last about two weeks. If Woods is convicted of aggravated murder, there will be a second trial lasting about three days to determine if he deserves the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.

Testimony is expected to start Wednesday.

, DataTimes