Jury seated in Densmore murder trial
Attorneys are expected to make opening statements at 9 a.m. Thursday in the murder trial of Adam Densmore after a jury was seated late Wednesday following four days of questioning by attorneys.
Densmore, 33, is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a corpse, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in the death and dismemberment of Boulder’s Ashley Mead.
Initial jury selection began on Friday and continued through Wednesday, as attorneys narrowed down a pool of dozens of potential jurors to 16 people, 12 of whom will be on the jury and four who will serve as alternates.
Questions from Densmore’s attorneys largely centered on whether the jury panel would be able to remain objective after seeing graphic photos, whether a person writing about violent actions necessarily meant that they would act on them, and whether jurors would judge Densmore for not testifying.
Boulder District Judge Judtih LaBuda swore in the jurors and then released them for the day.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
Mead, 25, was last seen Feb. 12, 2017, and was reported missing two days later along with her 1year-old daughter, Winter Daisy Mead. Densmore and Mead recently had moved to Boulder from Louisiana, and they shared custody of the child, but were no longer dating.
Densmore was found outside of Tulsa, Okla., on Feb. 16, 2017, with the child. Ashley Mead’s torso also was found in Oklahoma a short time later, stuffed in a suitcase.
No other remains have been discovered, but police believe the rest of Mead’s body may have been discarded somewhere between Louisiana — where Densmore is alleged to have dismembered her — and Oklahoma.
Prosecutors previously have said they believe Mead was killed in Boulder and dismembered at Densmore’s parents house in Louisiana. Police said Mead’s blood was found at the apartment she shared with Densmore as well as the Louisiana home and in Densmore’s car.
Police also said surveillance video from Feb. 15, 2017, placed Densmore in the area where Mead’s remains were recovered. Additionally, police said video surveillance shows Densmore taking what appeared to be a trash bag out of the car and putting it into a dumpster in Arkansas earlier that day.