Jury selection began — for the second time — in Eric Hendon’s triple- murder trial Wednesday.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones dismissed the first jury last October when defense attorneys saw evidence they thought could potentially exonerate Hendon. In the five months since, defense attorneys, prosecutors and surviving victim Ronda Blankenship and her attorney have been battling over additional personal information defense attorneys have sought from Blankenship. Jones, however, was determined that the trial would go forward, despite several pending issues.
“I’m not going to continue the trial,” the judge said Tuesday during the final hearing before jury selection started.
Hendon, 33, of Akron, is charged with aggravated murder in the New Year’s Eve 2013 shooting deaths of a Barberton man and two teenage children in a home-invasion robbery for marijuana and cash. He faces the death penalty. Michael Hendon, 24, his younger brother, is a co-defendant and was convicted in August and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
A pool of 149 potential jurors in Eric Hendon’s trial answered jury questionnaires Wednesday that asked them about their backgrounds, knowledge of the case and thoughts on the death penalty.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors will begin individual interviews with jurors Thursday, a process that is expected to last several weeks. A jury is expected to be seated by March 17, with the trial starting March 22. The trial could last up to a month.
A major pending issue is whether Jones will grant a defense request to sanction prosecutors for not providing information and being uncooperative, allegations the prosecutors deny.
The defense is asking Jones to not allow Blankenship, who was shot in the head and lost an eye after being stabbed in the face, to testify.
If Blankenship is permitted to testify, the case hinges on how well she can remember the events of that night and whether any treatment she received, exposure to media reports or discussion with detectives might have skewed her recollection, said Brian Pierce, one of two defense attorneys for Eric Hendon.
“It comes down to memory and her ability — with this horrible trauma — to be able to accurately and reliably identify someone,” he said.
Jones denied a request by defense attorneys Tuesday for the court to provide a neurologist to review Blankenship’s medical records and determine if her injuries could have affected her memory. The judge, however, granted a defense request for an anesthesiologist to examine the potential impact of the drugs prescribed to Blankenship.
The defense’s witness list has 48 potential witnesses, which includes Blankenship, numerous police officers, a forensic computer expert and a memory-identification expert.
Assistant prosecutors Teri Burnside and Dan Sallerson plan to call Blankenship, a doctor with the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, police officers, paramedics and crime-lab technicians.
Jones recently ordered Michael Hendon transferred from Mansfield Correctional Institution to the Summit County Jail. It is unclear whether he will be called as a witness. He has a pending appeal and could plead the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination if he takes the stand.
Pierce said he and Don Malarcik, his co-counsel, won’t decide until the trial is underway whether Eric Hendon should testify.
Jones asked prosecutors and defense attorneys during Tuesday’s hearing to discuss whether a plea could be reached, but this was unsuccessful. Pierce said Hendon wants a jury to decide his case.
“He’s not interested in an offer,” Pierce said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.