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Jury selection begins in high-profile Saints star’s death

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. The trial for Cardell Hayes charged with second-degree murder in the April 9, 2016, shooting death of Smith begins with jury selection Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File) FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. The trial for Cardell Hayes charged with second-degree murder in the April 9, 2016, shooting death of Smith begins with jury selection Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

By Associated Press December 5, 2016 1 min read

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Questioning of potential jurors is set to begin in the trial of a man charged with fatally shooting former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith earlier this year.

Twenty-nine-year-old Cardell Hayes has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in Smith’s death, and attempted second-degree murder in the wounding of Smith’s wife.

Monday’s trial opens with jury selection in New Orleans.

Smith died after being shot eight times the night of April 9.

Smith’s SUV had been rear-ended by a Hummer that was driven by Hayes. Jurors likely will be faced with conflicting testimony over which of the two drivers was the aggressor in the confrontation that followed.