Billy Hawk, left, watches as attorneys Bill Speek, Jonathan Turner and Jim Logan confer during the end of jury selection Tuesday, May 31, 2016 in Judge Don Poole's courtroom. Hawk was indicted in September for the 1981 slaying of Johnny Mack Salyer.
Judge Don Poole talks to jury members Tuesday, May 31, 2016 before the beginning of Billy Hawk's 35-year-old murder trial. Hawk was indicted in September for the 1981 slaying of Johnny Mack Salyer.
Attorney Bill Speek talks to potential jurors Tuesday, May 31, 2016 during the end of jury selection for Billy Hawk's 35-year-old murder trial. Hawk was indicted in September for the 1981 slaying of Johnny Mack Salyer.Nearly 35 years to the day that officers pulled Johnny Mack Salyer from a 55-gallon steel drum, jurors were selected in his alleged killer's trial.
Attorneys spent Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court siphoning through a pool of 72 prospective jurors. Around 2 p.m., they settled on 14 people to decide the fate of Billy Hawk.
Although attorneys pushed to do opening statements Tuesday, not all 14 jurors returned to court in time. Because the jury is sequestered, members will spend the weeklong trial in a hotel and have limited communication with family and friends.
A grand jury indicted Hawk, 62, in September for first-degree murder in the death of Salyer. A judge set his bond at $500,000 and he has been in custody since.
During a press conference, District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said on June 3, 1981, authorities pulled a decomposing body from a 55-gallon steel drum on Lake Chickamauga. Several days passed before a relative identified Salyer's Rolling Stones tattoo.
At the time, Hawk was a suspect in the killing, Pinkston said. He and Salyer were co-defendants in a pending cocaine distribution case. But the prosecution never materialized because of several younger, uncooperative witnesses, Pinkston said.
Since the indictment, Hawk's defense attorneys - Jim Logan, Bill Speek and Jonathan Turner - have argued over the state's evidence.
The defense emphasized that state agents lost Salyer's barrel, which could have contained exonerating evidence. They also questioned why a recent autopsy suggested Salyer died from a gunshot wound when the original X-ray - now missing - did not.
After listening to these pretrial arguments, Judge Don Poole sided with prosecutors and denied motions to dismiss Hawk's indictment.
If convicted, Hawk faces life in prison or death. Opening statements will begin at 8:30 a.m. today in Poole's courtroom.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at 423-757-6347 or zpeterson@timesfreepress.com.