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Judge rejects challenge before trial in Alta Vista infant’s death; jury seated

Zachary Koehn
Zachary Koehn

MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) — A judge has rejected a challenge to a jury pool for a man charged in the August 2017 death of his infant son in Alta Vista, and opening arguments in the trial are expected to begin today (Tuesday).

Judge Richard Stochl ruled at the start of Zachary Koehn’s trial Monday that there weren’t systematic problems with how the pool was assembled and that it was a representative cross-section of Henry County.

Stochl had earlier moved the trial to Mount Pleasant because of pretrial publicity in Chickasaw County.

Defense lawyers had objected to the potential makeup of the jury for Koehn, who is charged with murder and child endangerment.

Attorney Steven Drahozal asked the court last week to reconsider the jury pool because of an under-representation of Hispanic people. Drahozal says Koehn has a Hispanic background and is entitled to a jury drawn from a cross-section of the community.

Judge Stochl ruled against the motion and began jury selection Monday morning. A panel of seven men and seven women including two unidentified alternate jurors was seated later Monday afternoon.

Police say officers found the dead body of 4-month-old Sterling Koehn in an infant swing on Aug. 30 last year at the couple’s Alta Vista apartment.

An autopsy determined that the baby hadn’t been changed, bathed or moved from the seat in at least a week, and the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office arrested the couple in October, alleging that Sterling had died because of a denial of critical care.

The baby’s mother, Cheyanne Harris, is set to be tried separately on similar charges.

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