Jury selection begins today in the trial of Victor Cano-Gonzales, who stands accused of shaking his 4-month-old son to death in November, 2002.
Gonzales has been in the Douglas County jail since Nov. 16 -- where he's charged with second-degree intentional homicide -- on a $50,000 cash bond .
Superior attorney Richard Gondik is handling Gonzales' defense while Assistant District Attorney James Boughner will be prosecuting for the state.
Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Lucci will hear the case and has called prospective jurors from both Branch 1 and Branch 2 to be at the courthouse today for jury selection.
The trial is expected to last at least a week with expert witnesses on the docket to testify for both the defense and the prosecution.
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In the courtroom will also be Gonzales' fiancee, Emile Johnson, and family members who stand by his innocence.
In a previous interview, Johnson said she has "refused to talk to the police because I'm not going to give them anything that will help them build a case against Victor."
She is expected to take the stand and give testimony that she has refused to provide to the investigators in the case.
Gondik has expressed previous concerns about the way the investigation has been handled by the Superior Police Department and by the various medical people involved with the case including the St. Louis Medical Examiner's Office and doctors at St. Mary's Medical Center.
"I plan to bring out all these inconsistencies and show that something was wrong here with this whole investigation," said Gondik during a previous interview. "The police had it in for Mr. Gonzales from the beginning and never looked anywhere else in their investigation. The medical evidence doesn't support their contention of homicide."
Investigators with the police department have declined to comment on the case.
Jury selection began at 9 a.m. and was expected to wrap up at day's end.
Testimony is expected to begin on Tuesday unless a jury is selected earlier on Monday.
