Jury has been selected in Avalos triple murder trial

A jury has been selected in the trial of Andres “Andy” Avalos Jr., charged with the premeditated murders of his wife, neighbor and a local pastor.

Avalos is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 4, 2014, deaths of his wife Amber Avalos, 33; neighbor Denise Potter, 46; and the Rev. James “Tripp” Battle III, 31.

If convicted, the state will seek the death penalty.

The defense doesn’t intend to argue that Avalos — who allegedly gave detectives a detailed confession — didn’t commit the murders, but that he was legally insane at the time of the slayings.

Just before 4 p.m. Friday, a jury of 12 and two alternates were selected to hear the Avalos case.

Jury selection got underway Monday with individual questioning of jurors. Over the course of four days, Assistant State Attorney Art Brown, State Attorney Ed Brodsky and defense attorneys Andrew Crawford and Richard Watts reviewed questionnaires filled out by the potential jurors and questioned them regarding their knowledge of the case, any scheduling conflicts and their views on the death penalty.

Of the 155 summoned earlier in the week, 56 potential jurors were ordered to return Friday.

Brown handled the questioning Friday morning, as he questioned potential jurors about any connections to witnesses in the case or with each other; past experiences with law enforcement or the judicial system; and their understanding of premeditation, free will and reasonable doubt.

Just before the lunch recess, Brown also read jurors the legal instruction given for an insanity defense. He explained the burden would be on the defense first to prove he was insane, and later the state to disprove it. Brown also explained that for a person to use an insanity defense, they have to be found to have been insane at the time of offense, not currently or any other time in the past.

For an insanity defense, Brown said, the defendant has to be unable to understand that their actions are criminal or viewed morally wrong by society.

Avalos, dressed in a black suit with a white dress shirt open at the collar, leaned forward at times in his seat on Friday, as he listened to potential jurors speak and occasionally took notes.

His father, Andres Avalos Sr., sat in the courtroom during part of Friday’s morning questioning. Next to him sat a member of the sheriff’s office related to the family and listed as a witness by both sides.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Jury has been selected in Avalos triple murder trial."