Jury selection continues in Welton case

PALMER -- Courtroom Four at Palmer Superior Court was crowded Thursday with more than 30 prospective jurors for the upcoming murder trial of Suzette Welton, accused of burning down her home Sept. 15, 2000, in order to collect insurance money on her teen sons -- one of whom died in the fire.

Each juror was questioned individually by Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak, Public Defender Greg Heath and Assistant Public Defender Greg Davenport in a lengthy process, to come up with 12 jurors and four alternates who had no previous exposure to the case.

Welton, 38, was originally indicted Nov. 30, 2000, on one first-degree murder count, two charges of attempted murder, and one count of arson in connection with the fire that consumed the Mulchatna Drive duplex apartment where she lived with her three children. Her 14-year-old son, Samuel, died in the fire. Another son, Jeremiah, then 16, jumped to the ground from a second-story window. Welton and her 6-year-old daughter escaped uninjured.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Milton Souter said he has presided over several high-profile cases with a lot of pre-trial coverage and he has not found it to be a problem finding jurors. Most all of the prospective jurors at Thursday's proceedings said they didn't know of the Welton case at all.

Each prospective juror was quizzed individually and some of the questions were bit personal: Have you or your children ever been involved with drugs? Has anyone in your family or circle of acquaintances ever been the victim of a violent crime? How do you feel about divorce's effect on the children in a marriage? Do you think it is possible for a woman to murder her own children?

Several days before, each prospective juror had filed out a six-page questionnaire devised by both the prosecution and the defense. At Thursday's proceedings, attorneys were asking the men and women to elaborate on certain answers.

Prospective jurors also had examined a list of more than 100 prospective witnesses and checked off those who were familiar to them. Most have lived in the Valley many years and knew several on the list, with only one who knew none of the people. Additional questions arose around discovering how they would weigh the trial testimony coming from people they know.

Two potential jurors were former law enforcement officers. One was an X-ray technician familiar with forensics. Another owns several businesses in the Valley and was concerned about the weeks-long commitment to serving on a jury. Two were young women. One man said he had several brushes with the law in his past and another admitted he had been wild in his youth and experimented with drugs.

To lighten matters, Judge Souter tossed in a kindly comment here or there, but for the most part, the prospective jurors were unflinching in their responses.

A former Alaska State Trooper who retired in 1993 said he didn't know anything about the Welton case because he doesn't read the newspapers or follow any crime stories. "I spent 22 years dealing with other people's problems and I don't want to do that anymore. I have a new job and a new life," he said.

The former trooper was questioned about his fraternity with other officers, and said he doesn't associate with them anymore and kept a different circle of friends even while he was an officer.

Another former officer said he, too, had left the life of police work behind to find a new life, but felt he could be an impartial juror who "looks at everything critically" because that was how he was trained.

Heath asked a federal worker how he views being on the jury. "Nervous and respectful," he answered. "I feel nervous because I want to do the right thing and respectful for the judicial system."

Kalytiak asked a real estate agent, "Do you believe it is it possible for a woman to kill her own child?"

"Anything is possible," the woman said.

The process was expected to continue into Monday, with opening statements possibly beginning today.