Luis Toledo’s attorneys ask to sequester jury in death penalty trial
By Frank Fernandez
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Attorneys for Luis Toledo, who is accused of killing his wife and her two children, are asking that the jury be sequestered for Toledo’s upcoming death penalty trial.
Toledo, 33, is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, 28-year-old Yessenia Suarez, and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Thalia, 9, and Michael, 8. If convicted of killing either of the children, Toledo could face the death penalty.
The mother and children were reported missing Oct. 23, 2013, from their home at 317 Covent Gardens Place. Their bodies have not been found.
The hearing on the defense motion to sequester the jury, which means removing them from public contact during the trial, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday before Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2 in St. Augustine for the long-delayed trial which is expected to last several weeks.
The trial was originally planned for DeLand. But Toledo’s attorneys argued at a prior hearing that he could not receive a fair trial in Volusia County because of the extensive media coverage the case has received. Prosecutors opposed the move but Zambrano granted the defense request.
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