Closing arguments begin today
By John Tredrea
Nearly a year and a half after it began, the case of accused wife-killer Jonathan Nyce went to trial before Judge Bill Mathesius in state Superior Court in Trenton Tuesday, when jury selection began.
Selection of the 16 jurors, four of them alternates, was completed Wednesday and opening arguments were scheduled to begin today (Thursday), according to a spokesman for Judge Mathesius. Court is scheduled to convene again on Tuesday.
Mr. Nyce, 56, is accused of beating his 34-year-old wife Michelle Nyce to death in the garage of their upscale Hopewell Township home the night of Jan. 16, 2004. Prosecutors say he confessed to the crime in the township police station two days later. A grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder and fourth-degree evidence tampering.
Represented by Trenton attorney Robin Lord, Mr. Nyce has pleaded not guilty to both charges. Ms. Lord’s motion to have her client’s confession suppressed was denied by Judge Bill Mathesius a few weeks ago.
Mr. Nyce has been free on $750,000 bail since August 2004. He lives with his parents in Pennsylvania and has been confined to their home. His whereabouts are being monitored by an electronic tracking device worn on his ankle.
Mr. Nyce appeared calm and alert in court Tuesday and he smiled briefly at the gallery when introduced to the court by Ms. Lord. His father John Nyce attended the hearing.
Selection of jurors began mid-morning Tuesday, when a pool of 150 county residents filled every seat of the largest room in the courthouse, which dates to the mid-19th century.
Each prospective juror had been given a number. When his or her number was called, a juror moved from a seat in the gallery to a seat in the jury box, to the left of Judge Mathesius’ bench.
Excused were a number of people who said pretrial publicity might affect their ability to be impartial. Also excused were people whose vacation plans would conflict with the trial, which is expected to last at least a month. The trial will be held three days each week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Also removed during the preliminary round of jury selection were several candidates who admitted they could be swayed from impartiality by Ms. Nyce’s Filipino descent or adultery or threats of divorce, all factors in the case.
Several people also were excused because they felt their acquaintance with a potential witness might affect their ability to be impartial. Read aloud by Judge Mathesius was a list of 106 potential witnesses, including most of the members of the Hopewell Township Police Department, many NJ State Police officers, many officers of the Mercer County prosecutor’s office, Michelle Nyce’s parents (Teodoro Rivera and Trefisa Rivera) and her best friend Larissa Soos. As was required by law, none of the potential witnesses were in the courtroom.
The prosecution says Ms. Nyce was returning home from a Route 1 motel room tryst with her lover of one year the night she allegedly was murdered by her husband while their three children slept upstairs. The prosecution says Mr. Nyce then tried to make his wife’s death look like the result of an automobile accident by sending her SUV into Jacob’s Creek with her body in the driver’s seat. He then tried to hide or destroy evidence of the murder, the prosecution says.
Once the jurors had left the courtroom, the defense and prosecution teams began using the challenges that allow them to dismiss jurors for reasons they do not have to explain. Prosecutors get 12 of these challenges, the defense gets 20. Assisting Ms. Lord in the defense is her partner, Patrick Whelan. The prosecutor is Thomas Meidt, assisted by Doris Galuchie, also a prosecutor.
Before adjournment Tuesday, the prosecution had excused seven jurors, the defense six. Among those who had been excused during the day were a FBI agent, who said his background in law enforcement might affect his ability to be impartial, and a yoga instructor from Hopewell Township.