Trial starts this morning for a Graysville, Tenn., man accused of strangling another man in a bathtub in 2008.
William Thomas Minton, 42, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Carlos McCuiston Jr. in Dayton.
Jury selection begins this morning. The prosecuting and defense attorneys both said they think the trial will be short.
“I’m hoping we can get it done in two days,” said J. Michael Taylor, the 12th District attorney general who is prosecuting the case. “I don’t anticipate over three days.”
The trial should last only a few days since all the evidence will prove that Mr. Minton is innocent, said Larry Roddy, his attorney.
“There’s a lot of facts, and a lot of questions are going to have to be answered before Minton can be convicted,” Mr. Roddy said. “I believe by the time this trial is over they will be answered — and it’s not Mr. Minton (who is guilty).”
He said Mr. Minton’s case is probably “the most intriguing” he has ever represented.
Mr. McCuiston’s nephew, Allen Smith, found his uncle’s body in the bathtub of an apartment on Memorial Street on July 24, 2008, and called police.
Mr. Smith told police he met Mr. Minton coming out of the apartment. He said Mr. Minton told him, “I strangled the S.O.B.,” newspaper archives show. An autopsy confirmed Mr. McCuiston was strangled, according to reports.
When authorities arrested Mr. Minton, he was carrying a watch, chain, ring and pendant that belonged to the victim, reports show. Mr. Minton’s boots also were covered in what appeared to be blood, and he told authorities he could not remember anything that occurred, authorities said.