FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — The trial for Thomas Stein is underway after jury selection had to restart following a disruption in the hallway on Monday.
Stein, 18, is charged with killing 15-year-old Kayla Rincon Miller in Cape Coral two years ago.
Judge Nicholas Thompson said jury selection had to start over because of an exchange in the hallway between the families of the two co-defendants, which led him to dismiss the original jury pool.
Horne’s family did not appear in court today, but Stein’s family was present as jury selection resumed.
Prosecutors say Stein faces life in prison if he is found guilty of first-degree murder.
Judge Nicholas Thompson read the indictment and charges to the courtroom. The indictment alleges that Thomas Stein, on or about March 17, 2024, in Lee County, Florida, did unlawfully, from a premeditated design to affect the death of a human being or while engaged in perpetration of or in the attempt to perpetrate a robbery with a deadly weapon.
A prosecutor told WINK News reporter Bella Line during a break that after they seat their 14 jurors, they will go into opening arguments. It’s unclear whether that will happen today.