Jury selection has begun in a new trial for a Juneau man accused of murder.
Christopher Strawn, 34, is accused of killing 30-year-old Brandon Cook in 2015. He is facing charges of first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault and weapons misconduct.
A trial earlier this year ended with a mistrial caused when a witness raised the topic of domestic violence, a topic that Judge Philip Pallenberg specifically barred.
Fifty-one jurors were present late Monday morning, and Pallenberg told the group that “it’s going to take a little while to get through the jury selection process. … It may take a couple of days to get a jury.”
After that, Pallenberg anticipates a trial of two to three weeks.
Representing the prosecution is Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige, who conducted the first trial against Strawn.
Representing the defense is Strawn himself. In the first trial, he was defended by Eve Soutiere; this time around, he’s defending himself, with a public defender standing by in the gallery in case Strawn changes his mind.
The jury pool is smaller than Pallenberg had hoped: The state called for 130 people to show up. The 51 who did show up represent a cross-section of Juneau society: state employees, business owners, retirees, men, women, whites, Natives and others. One of the Alaska Senate’s assistant secretaries was considered, as was a man who works at a private gun range and a stay-at-home mother still nursing her young child.
Strawn and Paige may reject jurors for cause or accept them into the pool from which the final selection will be made. Most will be interviewed individually to see what, if anything, they already know about one of Juneau’s most high-profile murder trials in previous years.
“This type of case is a very, very serious case. There are graphic details,” Strawn told one prospective juror.
Strawn is accused of shooting Cook “execution-style” on Oct. 20, 2015 as he helped friend Tiffany Marie Albertson paint the kitchen of her trailer in Kodzoff Acres Mobile Home Park on Mendenhall Loop Road. He continues to maintain his innocence.
After one prospective juror shared what he remembered from the Empire’s coverage, it was Strawn’s turn to speak.
“That sounds horrible. … Do you still feel you can keep an open mind?” he asked. The prospective juror said yes.
Correction: The first version of this story stated that the previous mistrial happened in 2016. It occurred in February 2017.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 523-2258.
