Judge: Prospective jurors in family slayings trial can't see photos, but can hear about them

PEORIA, Illinois — A judge has ruled prospective jurors cannot be shown graphic photos of the victims in the killings of a central Illinois family, but can hear descriptions of them.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/155i0OI) that McLean County Judge Scott Drazewksi made the ruling Monday on the first day of the trial of Christopher Harris.

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2009 file photo, Logan County sheriff's officers survey and secure the home where five members of a family were found slain in their home in Beason, Ill. Trial is set to begin Monday, April 29, 2013, in Peoria, Ill., for Christopher Harris, one of two brothers accused in the slayings of his ex-wife's family. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Harris is the first of two brothers charged in the killings to go to trial. He and Jason Harris have pleaded not guilty to murder in the September 2009 beating deaths of a Beason couple and three of their children.

Jury selection in Christopher Harris' trial could begin Tuesday and may take several days.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports (http://bit.ly/YhL8iE ) the judge excluded from the trial a statement about the potential for violence of the 14-year-old victim.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!

Follow Us

^{Content enhanced with OpenCalais.}