Trial begins for U-M student accused of killing mentally ill mother
The trial began Tuesday for the 22-year-old University of Michigan student accused of beating and stabbing his mentally ill mother to death in 2011, ABC News reported.
Jeffrey Pyne is charged the first-degree murder of Ruth Pyne, who was found dead in the family's Highland Township garage.
Pyne, a former high school valedictorian at West Highland Christian Academy, has maintained his innocence. His father, Bernard, has told ABC News he also believes his son is innocent.
ABC reports Ruth Pyne has a 14-year history of mental illness and allegedly was sometimes violent.
The Detroit Free Press reported that jury selection began in the Oakland County Circuit Court. About 200 prospective jurors have been called and the selection process is expected to continue Wednesday and Thursday with opening statements on Friday, the newspaper reported.
Read the full Free Press report here.
Read the full ABC News report here.
Watch the ABC News report below.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
HB11
Wed, Nov 14, 2012 : 12:59 p.m.
Did AA.com cover this story? I don't recall hearing this story anywhere.
Solipsist
Sat, Nov 17, 2012 : 3:46 a.m.
Not sure if AA.com did, but it's been all over local TV news.