Jury selected in Michigan stabbings murder trial

FLINT (AP) -- A jury was selected last Thursday in the first murder trial for a man accused of a deadly series of stabbings in Michigan in 2010. After screening candidates for two days, lawyers and a judge returned to court and settled on 12 people and four alternates. Opening statements are set for Tuesday in the trial of Elias Abuelazam, a 35-year-old native of Israel who is a permanent resident of the U.S. Abuelazam is charged with killing Arnold Minor in Flint in August 2010, the last Michigan victim of a series of stabbings that stretched to Ohio and Virginia. He might offer an insanity defense. Abuelazam is charged with three murders and six attempted murders in the Flint area, although 14 people were stabbed that summer. Most jurors were familiar with news reports of the attacks but said they could set aside what they had read or heard, defense attorney Brian Morley said. "We're ready to get started," he said. Minor's DNA was found in dried blood in Abuelazam's Chevy Blazer and in his luggage, according to police. He was captured at an Atlanta airport while trying to flee to Israel. Abuelazam is charged with attempted murder in Toledo, Ohio, and is suspected but not charged in attacks in Leesburg, Va., a region where he formerly lived. Published: Mon, May 7, 2012