ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Jury selection continues in Markeith Loyd’s first murder trial.
Loyd is accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and an Orange County police lieutenant.
The judge has gone through nearly 700 potential jurors, but Channel 9 learned about a possible timeline as to when testimony could start.
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Most of the day was devoted to the initial screening of new jurors.
Over the past week, the first 500 jurors from last Friday went through several stages of the process.
Yet no one has been selected on the jury that will hear the trial surrounding Dixon's death.
So far, hundreds of people have been dismissed. Many of them know who Markeith Loyd is, know what he’s accused of doing and already believe he is guilty.
Friday morning, the defense tried to argue that anyone who said they think he did it should be automatically dismissed, but prosecutors successfully argued that higher courts have ruled otherwise.
People who think Loyd is guilty could end up serving on the jury as long as they can convince the judge that they can put that opinion aside.
Also, there is confusion over how Dixon’s unborn baby fits into the case.
“I was under the impression that the state is only seeking death in count one, the murder of Sade Dixon. So, you’re telling me you’re seeking death in count two, the unborn child,” said Judge Leticia Marques.
The defense argues that prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty for the murder of Dixon’s unborn baby.
The judge said she needs more time to decide about the baby, which will be decided on in the hearing next week.
By the end of Friday, the judge believes she will have done basic screening on enough people to pull the final jury for the case.
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