DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa man charged with killing his wife and unborn child went on trial Monday for a third time after two prior juries could not agree on whether he’s guilty.
Seth Techel, 23, appeared in a Scott County courtroom in Davenport as jury selection began for the trial, expected to last two to three weeks.
Techel has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy in the May 2012 death of 23-year-old Lisa Techel, who was five months pregnant with a baby girl. He faces life in prison.
Prosecutors say Techel shot his wife while she was sleeping in their trailer in Agency, in rural southeastern Iowa near Ottumwa. They say he wanted her dead because he was unhappy with their relationship and pursuing an affair with a coworker with whom he was swapping sexually-tinged text messages.
Techel claims that he was in the shower when he heard a gunshot, and ran out to find his wife dead. His defense argues that she was likely killed by a mentally ill neighbor who has since died. Techel has downplayed his relationship with the other woman, saying it wasn’t serious.
Two trials last year ended with juries deadlocked and Judge Dan Wilson declaring mistrials. The first was held in Ottumwa while the second was in nearby Mount Pleasant. The third trial has moved to Davenport, where the slaying has received little publicity.
“It is an important case and it is important that we get it right,” prosecutor Andrew Prosser told a panel of 36 potential jurors, which was being whittled down to 12 jurors and four alternates.
Several were excused after telling Wilson they had conflicts.
Wilson excused a male juror who said he already had an opinion about Techel’s guilt, and if he were a juror, “it would be substantiated.” The judge excused a female who said she’d be prejudiced because the case involves an unborn child’s death.
Jury selection will resume Tuesday.
Techel and his one-time high school sweetheart were beginning careers in law enforcement with encouragement from Todd Caldwell, Lisa’s father and a veteran sheriff’s deputy in Wapello County. Seth had started working as a county jailer while Lisa was a reserve deputy who had interned for the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Caldwell had previously investigated the couple’s neighbor, Brian Tate, and warned deputies to use caution around him given his mental illness. But he has said that he is convinced his former son-in-law is guilty in his daughter’s death.
Investigators say they found the alleged murder weapon in tall grass on a neighboring property a day after Lisa Techel’s death. They say she was killed by a single shot fired from the foot of the bed.
Seth Techel, who’s been jailed since he was arrested after his wife’s funeral visitation, stood in the crowded courtroom as Wilson introduced him Monday as the defendant. He wore a white dress shirt and dark tie and often spoke with his new attorney, Gerald Feuerhelm.
Having multiple trials in a murder case isn’t that unusual, but usually gives the prosecution an advantage, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Prosecutors can better prepare to counter the anticipated defense while multiple trials “can wear down the defense’s resources and emotional energy,” she said.
“While there is no guarantee of a conviction, ’third time is a charm’ often applies in these cases,” she said.
Techel’s attorney in the first two trials, Steven Gardner, resigned from the case last year, citing health problems and noting that Techel’s deteriorating finances qualified him for a publicly-funded defense.
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